


When The Earth Fights Back

by red_flag



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Avatar Lexa, Blood and Injury, Earthbender Anya, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Firebender Clarke Griffin, Flaff, Four Nations, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Mount Weather, Season Two AU, Slow Burn, Smut, The Commander is The Avatar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 02:27:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 42,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15676155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_flag/pseuds/red_flag
Summary: “There are Four Nations, Clarke”. Anya slowly closed her fingers around the rock, her thumb returning to its soft caress on it. “One for every element of the nature. Fire, air, water and ground. I come from the Nation of Earth, a warrior and protector of the  the forest. I am an Earthbender, as we call ourselves, and I can control the dirt, the trees and the stone. There are the Firebenders from the Fire Nation, controllers of the fire, the Waterbenders of the Water Nation and last, there are the Airbenders of the Air Nation. Every Nation is consisted of three Clans, each of them with their own leader. Twelve Clans, twelve Ambassadors and four leaders. With that way, we are able to keep the peace”.“I thought you said that there was only one Leader”.Anya shook her head. “There is only one Commander. The Commander is the Avatar, the only one who can control all four elements, the only one who can control every Nation. Their word is the rule, their rules are the law. They protect us and the planet's elements. They keep the balance".





	1. Chapter One

“I don’t know what you are talking about”, Clarke mumbled when she managed to look up at Anya as she drugged her through the woods.

Despite hurt, the Grounder woman moved quickly in the forest, her jaw clenched and her body stiff. Clarke couldn’t understand how exactly the older woman could still move but she held it all in and tried to focus on the new question that was fired at her exhausted brain.

Anya rolled her eyes at the obliviousness that the Sky Girl showed again and keeping her temper, she repeated the question. “What element can you use, Clarke of the Sky People?” she repeated, tugging at the rope as she felt the young girl pause again.

“I don’t know what you are saying, damn it, can we stop for a second?”

The woman clenched her jaw again, wishing to just make a branch fall on the blonde’s head and knock her out again. But the Commander would like her to be awake, to finish this madness of the Mountain and the Sky People as soon as possible. Peace was finally established between the Four Nations and the People had to be dropped from the Sky now. Anya and the whole damned world needed a bigger break.

Clarke groaned when the woman ignored her and started walking faster, her whole body throbbing with pain. Getting hit on the head with a rock after jumping from God-knows-how-many meters in water was not the best experience for someone, who had fought a war and got captured by psychopaths. Clarke wished for the Grounder to drop unconscious for a couple of moments so she could catch her breath.

But no, the older woman kept on walking with inhuman pace and energy and Clarke forced her trembling legs to follow. The sunlight had started to lessen by the time Anya slowed down and the two women not once had stopped to drink water or to calm their racing hearts. So when the Grounder fell onto a careful pace of walking, Clarke felt such relief that she almost passed out. It wasn’t long until the older woman stopped and looked around her for a couple of seconds before circling a big stone and finding the door she hoped to find.

Clarke froze in surprise as she watched the Grounder push the metallic door to the side and tugging the rope to make the younger blonde walk inside the darkness. “I’m right behind you”, Anya whispered, thoughts racing elsewhere. She waited for the hesitant Sky Girl to get inside the bunker, quickly following her in as well and shutting the door, letting the dark envelop the place.

Clarke felt the rope loosen and she raised her hands in front of her, not able to make out the simple shape of her fingers in the blackness and a shiver ran down her back at the feeling of fear crawling up her body. She could hear Anya moving around the room, her own shaky breath, the Grounder’s steady one and then, a spark was seen and a fire was lighted up in the middle of the room, letting Clarke see around.

The walls and floor were made out of metal and there was a simple table sitting at the side, a pile of wood, a bottle of water and a small box with matches next to it. A couple of furs where also placed to another corner, an old used handmade bed. The room was small and suffocating, Clarke having a feeling that terrible things had happened in here, the walls that were painted black because of fire making her uncomfortable. “What is this place?”

“A holding cell”, Anya replied, the short answer making her sure that this was not a happy room. The smoke from the burning wood was lifting up towards the ceiling and getting out though a small hole in it. Clarke was positive that her arm would be able to get through it too but it was too high for her to even try lift her limp towards it.

“I thought you were killing everyone who did something wrong”, Clarke sat on the metal, not too close to the older woman but close enough to hear her uneasy breathing. The Grounder looked out of place and small inside a place like this, affected by the small room.

“Not the ones that we have for questioning”, the older blonde answered and slowly reached to her side, taking a hold of a grey rock at the shape of a baseball. Clarke frowned as she watched her gripping it in her palm like she needed to hold onto something steady. “Everyone who stays in here for more than three nights ends up crazy”.

The Sky Girl turned her eyes on the wall that was painted black because of fire and shivered at the thought of someone setting the inside of the room in fire so they could get out. There was some holes here and there on the metal like someone hit the walls with force and made the metal give away just lightly but the cell was stronger than that. The hole on the ceiling seemed like someone did it calmly and on propose, probably for the smoke to get out and fresh air to get in.

“Why are we staying here then?” Clarke asked, her voice trembling as she looked back at the Grounder at the other side of the small fire, her eyebrows frowning at the sight of the Anya’s thumb caressing the rock on her hand.

“We are close to my village”, Anya quietly said, not daring to rise her voice in this place. “You and I have a lot to tell to the Commander”. The woman’s eyes sparked all of the sudden. “And you have a lot to learn”.

Clarke frowned at that. “What do you mean?”

“You are a good fighter, Clarke of the Sky People”. Anya slowly looked at her straight in the eyes. “But clueless about yourself. Just like the rest of your people. To take down the Mountain, we will need you to wake up”.

Clarke was one hundred percent lost, not sure if her hits at Anya’s face cause any problems to the woman. “I don’t understand. Ever since we left the Mount Weather you keep asking these questions that I have no idea what they mean”.

And then, it felt like everything was going on in slow motion and Clarke could only widen her eyes as she saw the rock in Anya’s palm been lifted in the air on its own. If, later, someone would ask her, Clarke would have been able to describe every little detail of that moment, from the second Anya sighed and opened her palm with the rock onto it to the second the same rock started hovering over the Grounder’s palm, slowly moving around itself.

Every word was vanished from Clarke’s brain as she stared at the round rock moving away from Anya’s hand and towards her after a tiny, almost invisible move of the Grounder’s fingertips. The small rock slowly passed over the burning fire and stopped a couple of inches away from Clarke’s face hovering on the air. The blonde gulped the knot in the back of her throat, looking over at Anya’s amused eyes and back at the rock, lifted her hand to touch it, only for the rock to move away for her after a small move of Anya’s hand, still hovering in the air. “You need to understand yourself, Klark kom Skaikru”.

“Oh my God”, Clarke breathed out, looking at the Grounder move her hand and the rock to follow the small moves, slowly coming back and finding its place on Anya’s hand yet again. “Oh my God”.

“There are Four Nations, Clarke”. Anya slowly closed her fingers around the rock, her thumb returning to its soft back and forth on it. “One for every element of the nature. Fire, air, water and earth. I come from the Nation of Earth, a warrior and protector of the ground and the forest. I am an Earthbender, as we call ourselves, and I can control the ground, the trees and the stone. There are the Firebenders from the Fire Nation, controllers of the Fire, the Waterbenders of the Water Nation and last, there are the Airbenders of the Air Nation. I guess you understand how it goes”. Anya paused to see if the Sky Girl was following and she found the blue eyes sparking in the fire.

“Fuck…” Clarke was looking at the Grounder with wide eyes, her hands running through dirty blonde hair. “Oh, shit”. The ground was becoming more and more mysterious, the new words taking the girl unprepared but, at the same time, she was more than eager to listen more, her eyes shifting from Anya to the rock in her hand. “Go on…”

“Every Nation is consisted of three Clans, each of them with their own leader. Twelve Clans, twelve Ambassadors and four leaders. With that way, we are able to keep the peace”.

“I thought you said that there was only one Leader”, Clarke’s voice was shaking as she stared at the woman who could make rocks move.

Anya shook her head. “There is only one Commander. The Commander is the Avatar, the only one who can control all four elements, the only one who can control every Nation. Their word is the rule, their rules are the law. They protect us and the planet’s elements. They keep the balance. There is one born every seven years”.

“Why seven?”

“No one knows”, Anya stared at the fire, thinking about the times she’d spent with the brunette who now sat on the throne. “The Commander was my Second when she was little. She will listen to us”.

Clarke gulped. “What’s her name?”

For the first time, a small smile tugged the woman’s lips as she looked up at the Sky Girl, taking her in again. “Lexa”.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The words in Italics are the Grounder language.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit”.

“I am not listening to you ever again, Clarke of the Sky People”, Anya growled as she hid behind a tree, her side throbbing in pain as more and more red blood came out of the wound. The woman was cursing in her native language, not bothering to form words in _Gonaleng_ , pain and rage washing over her body like salt on an open wound. Her head was hurting and her limps felt too heavy to be lifted. She _knew_ that they should have gone to _her_ village first.

“I know, okay?” Clarke breathed heavily next to her, her own upper arm throbbing as well. The bullet had only graced her and she was bleeding as well but much less than Anya who was leaning on the tree behind her with shut exhausted eyes. “This wasn’t supposed to go like that”.

“They are coming closer”, Anya gritted her teeth as she glared at the Sky Girl. The warrior almost regretted feeling a spark of liking for the young, oblivious girl in their time in the woods. “Do something or I will smash their heads in!”

“Okay, okay”, Clarke exhaled deeply, flinching as a wave of bullets fell on the ground three feet away from them. Anya growled again and Clarke licked her lips, clearing her throat. “Hey! Stop firing!” she shouted and she almost collapsed when the bullets paused for a second. “I’m one of the Hundred! Please, don’t shoot!”

“Getting away with begging, Sky Girl?” The warrior clenched her jaw and shut her eyes against the pain. “Nice people you have there”.

“Shut up”, Clarke hissed and dared to look behind the tree, only to get back behind it as one more wave of bullets passed close to her. “Stupid, fucking sons of a bitch”, she cursed and shut her eyes as her mind kept racing. She blinked them open and looked at Anya. “I’m stepping out”.

“Perfect idea”, Anya growled back at her.

“Do you have a better one?” Clark snapped.

“Yes”, Anya said, placing a hand over the burning wound on her side, hot blood soaking her fingers in an alarming speed. She tightened her other hand in a fist and with more strength than Clarke had ever seen, she jumped from behind the tree and smashed her fist on the hard ground, causing it to start trembling, a crack travelling through the surface and then the two guards were falling on their backs. The third one, too stunned to move right away, got a rock of the size of a football on the side of his head, falling on the dirt unconscious. The Earthbender turned to find a parted mouth and wide blue eyes full of terror.

“I am Clarke Griffin! Don’t shoot!” Clarke shouted as she found her voice and the guard who had been running towards them with a rifle stopped, recognizing the name. “I am one of the Hundred! I was in the dropship!”

The warrior smirked as shocked silence fell over the clearing. “Go ahead, _Skaigada_. I will meet you back here in three days”.

“You are injured”, Clarke turned to the older woman but she was met with a dismissed wave. “Okay”, she gulped, knowing better than to say anything more. “Three days”.

And with that, Anya turned around and walked away from the blonde, just as the guard finally approached enough to recognize the girl under the mud. “Miss Griffin”, he managed to say in surprise, glancing at the other three men who were struggling to sit up, their bloody heads in their hands. Confused, he slowly turned back at the Chancellor’s daughter, gulping as he saw blood running down her arm. “You… I… We didn’t know it was you, miss. I apologize”.

“Let’s get inside”, she mumbled and walked next to the man towards the fallen Ark, passing the tall gates and getting worried glancing from every pair of eyes. She knew she looked like shit, with ripped clothes, mud all over her hair and dirt on her face. Some people didn’t recognized her, a few others gasping at the sight of the one of the kids that were sent to die and then her mother was rushing forwards, wrapping her arms around a stunned Clarke, a hug so warm and tight and safe that the girl felt her legs bending because of the amount of emotions that crushed her.

“Hey, baby”, Abby looked into the familiar blue eyes that suddenly filled with tears.

“Mom…”

“Shhh”, Abby pushed a strand of dirty hair away from her daughter’s face. Her voice was hard as she called out the rest of the people. “Prepare a bed in Medical!”

“Mom, we need to talk”, Clarke was slowly losing consciousness, a strong exhaustion threatening her mind to shut down for just a few moments. “Mom, the grounders… I need to talk to you about the grounders. I need–“

Sleep took over before she had time to finish her sentence.

\-----

Anya arrived to Ton DC sooner than she expected. The sun was hidden behind the mountains, painting the sky orange and slowly, the woman let herself take in the sight of the sunset, knowing that she’d never see the endless blue the same way again. Not when she knew that people lived up there. Shaking the dark thoughts out of her head, the injured Earthbender stepped out of the shadows and let the light of the torches fall on her face. Arrows where drawn back right away, the sight of blades sparking in fire making her uncomfortable considering she was the general of _Trikru_.

“ _Onya_?” a familiar voice was heard and the woman looked up at Indra, not able to utter a word. She had lost a lot of blood and the energy she had used back in the _Skaikru_ camp had left her even weaker. Looking like she understood, the older Earthbender rushed forwards and caught her as she stumbled over her own feet and almost collapsed face first on the ground. “ _Tag Naikou_!” Indra shouted over her shoulder and a warrior left right away to search for the healer. (Call Nyko!)

Someone tugged Anya’s arm over their shoulder, someone else steadied her body and then there were voices around her and Anya was looking around at her home, ready to pass out in pain and relief. She did actually lose consciousness for a few moments, because when she blinked her eyes open again, she was laying in a soft bed, with Nyko hovering over her and her former second standing a few feet away with a frown on her face.

“ _Heda_ ”, she choked out, immediately trying to sit up, only to be pressed back down by Indra’s strong hand. Anya had to close her burning eyes to stop the ceiling from spinning and after a long exhale she looked back at the brunette, who was dressed in her usual Commander clothes. It had been months since the last time they had seen each other and Anya let relief wash over her at the sight of her former second being well.

“ _We thought you were dead_ ”, the dark skinned warrior said harshly, making Anya’s eyes shift away from the Commander and up to her own former Mentor. “ _Where have you been?_ ”

Anya gulped, burning eyes shifting to the Commander’s dark serious ones. “ _The Mountain Men took me and the Sky People_ ”, she choked out, taking in the flash of emotions over the Avatar’s face. “ _I and a girl of the Sky People escaped. She helped me get out_ ”. The warrior gulped and met the Commander’s narrowed eyes. “ _Heda… our people are captured inside the Mountain. Mountain Men are taking their blood_ ”, Anya paused, seeing the Commander’s jaw clenching even more at the information, eyes hardening at the words.

“ _Did they hurt you_?” Indra asked and the Avatar’s green eyes flashed dangerously as she waiting for an answer. Anya hesitated and nodded once, trying to remember past the dizziness that had been shadowing her world during that time.

“They sprayed us with something”, Anya gulped. “ _A red liquid that was making our head dizzy. It was like our control over the elements faded. There was no fire for the Firebenders, no water for the Waterbenders and the Airbenders were too weak to use the air in the room for more than a few moments_ ”. Anya’s fists tightened by her side as Nyko cleaned her wounds. “ _I couldn’t feel the Earth. Everything was made of steel and metal. Everyone in there is helpless_ ”.

The Commander looked at her for some long moments, no emotion or thought written over her face. The only movement were her green orbs that moved over her injured body like water. Her voice was strong but quiet when she spoke. “The girl of the Sky People… Tell me about her”.

Anya sighed, flinching in pain and causing Nyko to scowl her. “ _Skaikru_ don’t know how to control”, she said slowly, taking in Indra’s surprise and the Commander’s sudden curiosity. “ _This girl, Clarke, she didn’t know about our power_ ”.

The Commander’s frown deepened and she chew on her lower lip as she thought. “You let her go”, she sighed and Anya would have tensed up if she didn’t know the brunette that well. “Scouts say that there are more than five hundred Sky People on _Trikru_ lands, right next to the board with Plain Riders. What did you plan with her?”

Anya hesitated for a split second before taking a deep breath. “Some of her people are prisoners in the Mountain too. And the rest of her people have weapons that we don’t. Maybe this is a chance to completely take down the Mountain”.

“These people killed three hundred of _your_ warriors”, Indra growled, the words cutting Anya deep. She had seen the bodies outside the metallic box but she had also seen the bodies in the Mountain.

“We have a chance to take down our biggest enemy”, Anya said calmly and, just as Indra opened her mouth to argue back, the Avatar raised her hand, silencing the old general.

“They burned your warriors alive. _Blood must have blood_ ”, the Commander let her arm drop and lock with the other behind her back.

Anya nodded slowly. “The Mountain has dropped its shadow over us ever since anyone can remember. They have been turning us into monsters, using us and killing us”. The warrior’s eyes sparkled at the low light of the candles. “My warriors fought and died in a battle and I will always honor them. But inside the Mountain… farmers and craftsmen and fishermen, traders and children are in there, _Heda._ Maybe this is our time to take them back”.

“What do you suggest, Anya?” the Commander straightened her back, a tiny _crack_ echoing in the silent room from the movement. The woman was tired but she didn’t let it show.

“I suggest we have a talk with the Leader of _Skaikru_. They want their children back and they are willing to talk about a truce. I think we should hear their offer, think about it and act on that. In three days”.

“Very well”, the Commander said, caching both women off guard by the quick answer. “ _In three days, outside the Skaikru camp. I want an army behind me, with you, Indra, leading it. You kill them all if anything goes wrong. Nine hundred warriors, one hundred of them being Firebenders. A rider will leave tonight for Ingranrona, I want Zack there._ We will meet them there at dawn. Anya, I want you with me and Gustus when the _Skaigada_ comes to talk”. The Commander sighed still in thought. “ _Go now, Indra. Prepare the army and send the rider_ ”.

The General bowed her head and rushed out of the building, leaving the Commander with her old mentor, who leaned back on the pillows and didn’t dare to break the silence. They hadn’t seen each other in months and by the tired green eyes, Anya could understand that her second was going through hard times.

It felt like forever until the Commander let out a long exhale and looked at her old mentor, an almost invisible smile at the side of her lips. “I am very glad you are alive, Anya”.

Anya met the strong gaze and felt a wave of pride rushing through her. “It is good to see you again, Lexa”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go, guys. You've met Lexa! Clexa first meeting coming soon.
> 
> Sooo, I've seen all your question and they will be answered soon enough, people, don't worry! Please excuse any mistakes, English is not my first language. Thank you so so so much for reading and commending your thoughts, the feedback gives me life.


	3. Chapter 3

“Clarke, this isn’t possible”, her mother was not backing down. “Maybe it was a trick, a way of confusing you, of scaring you”.

Clarke rolled her eyes. They had been in room that the leaders used for meetings. “I know what I saw. She took out three guards by causing a damn earthquake. With her _fist_. She can make _rocks hover_ in the air”.

“There is no logical explanation for this”, Bellamy was passing.

Clarke sighed and turned to Kane who had been silent the whole time. Back up in the Ark, Clarke didn’t like this man but now there was a calm look over his face, a look of thoughtfulness that made him look trustworthy. “Do you believe me?”

“I don’t know, Clarke”, Kane sighed as well. “It sounds…”

“What?”

The man leaned back on his chair, folding his fingers behind his head, his eyes lost. “I had the Chancellor’s book in my hands for a couple of moments in the Ark when Jaha was in surgery but I was not able to read it all. There was something very odd written in their about the medicine we put in our water supply”.

The blonde guard, frowned, confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Byrne, find that book and bring it here, please”.

The guard hesitated but at Abby’s nod, she bowed her head slightly and walked out of the room. Bellamy watched her go with a frown, turning to Kane. “What is it?”

“Abby, what exactly is that medicine?”

“For the solar radiation”, Abby frowned. “On the Ark, the levels were higher than the levels here on the ground. The first couple of generations that grew onto space were highly unstable because of it. There were many deaths”.

“We know all these”, Bellamy sat next to Clarke. “What do we need the book?”

“The book writes about same of the incidents that happened during that time. Many people died from asphyxiation because of high stress levels. Others were burned to death. And all these happened during fights or panic attacks”.

“Yes”, Abby nodded. “The medicine Arnold made was to keep the stress levels calm. And it was good to be put into water, the old Councils were sure that people would surely take it. At the same time, they didn’t have to waste many supplies on making pills and keeping lists of names. It was easier this way”.

“Who is Arnold?” Clarke looked up.

“The last scientist we had on the Ark. He died of an illness a few years back”.

“Why are we talking about the medicine?” Bellamy shook his head, looking irritated. “Shouldn’t we think about the fact that the grounders can kill us with earthquakes? Or that we have people taken hostages inside a damned mountain? Or that fucking idiot, Finn, who fucking killed eighteen _people_?”

“Why didn’t they fight back?” Clarke mumbled, her eyes darkening with grief and the same horror she had felt when they arrived at the small village. “If they had all these powers why didn’t they fight back?”

“Don’t think about it, honey”, Abby put her hands on her daughter’s tense shoulders. “We need to think how we can deal about the grounders wanting revenge”.

“Clarke!” Octavia rushed inside her room, making her jump. The blonde froze at sight of the girl’s wide eyes and pale terrified face. Next to her, Bellamy was on his feet and standing next to his sister with worry across his face, making sure she was okay. “You guys need to see this right _now_!”

They all rushed to follow her out, Clarke walking passed Finn without glancing in his direction, approaching the gates, staying completely still at the sight in front of her. “Oh shit”, she could only mumble, Raven nodding silently next to her.

There were more Grounders than any of them had ever seen, shouts of the same phrase being heard. Uncountable tents going on and on and on, hiding in the trees and Clarke could only gulp down the terror at the back of her throat as the shouts kept going on, louder with each second.

_Jus drein jus daun! Jus drein jus daun! Jus drein jus daun!_

“We are dead”, Raven breathed out, looking at the two warriors approaching the gates on their horses. “We are going to die”.

Clarke knew of people that could control fire, Anya had told her so, but now that she could actually see the hot fire that danced in the air in the distance, turning into odd huge shapes of animals and humans and then disappearing out of nowhere, terrified wasn’t a right word for what she was currently feeling. She could hear the rest of the Arkers talking among themselves, fear clouding the aura all around the camp.

The two Grounders on the horses approached the front gates, pulling off their hoods and letting their faces showing. A man and a woman, Clarke recognizing Anya after a second longer than necessary. The Earthbender was wearing black thick armor made of leather and fur and had weapons everywhere, warpaint around her eyes and her dirty blonde hair pulled back in complex braids. Her eyes scanned the Sky People and finally settled on Clarke, her expression hardening even more.

Next to her, the man had dark red hair, pulled back in a ponytail, his face as hard as Anya’s, his eyes settling on the metallic Ark. His body was tall and thin and his eyes seemed dark at the weak sunlight of the rising sun. His clothes were made of a dark grey short fur, decorated with orange furs, light and loosen around his tall but at the same time strong body, completely different from Anya’s. He exchanged a look with her and they both stepped down of the horses, landing onto the ground with a soft _thub_ , a small cloud of dust rising up around their boots.

“Step forwards, _Klark kom Skaikru_ ”, Anya’s voice was as hard as stone and the girl took a deep breath and approached the high gates, nodding at the guard to open them. The man looked back at her mother who nodded as well and then Clarke was looking in Anya’s cold eyes with nothing standing between them. The woman looked at her with eyes full of anger and the murderous look over her face was new scary. “I thought we had a deal”, Anya barked and Clarke nodded slowly, the movement only causing a new wave of rage to pass over the woman’s expression.

“We had nothing…”

“How dare you?” Anya barked taking a step closer and making a guard load his gun. The sound made the redhead man growl, one of his hands turning into a tight fist. “Eighteen dead. Seven of them guests from another clan. Three of them _children_. The rest of them innocent people. You land into _our_ lands and then you attack one of our villages. How dare you?”

Clarke gulped and lowered her head for a second to clear her head. She needed the grounders, she needed the peace, and she needed to take everyone out of Mount Weather. “I know I can’t bring them back from death, but tell me what I can do to make this right. No one wants a war”.

Anya clenched her jaw. The man’s dark eyes sparkled. “Look at our army, young girl”, he breathed out, slowly raising his clenched fist, until it was just close enough for her to see the smoke that came out of the cracks of his thin fingers. “Seven of _my_ people died in that village as well. And I would _love_ to take revenge”. His fist opened slowly, Clarke trying to keep her mouth shut as she saw the thin flame raising from his palm, warmth licking her face as he emotionlessly stood there with his hand burning. The people behind her couldn’t keep the gasps in, shock and terror crossing their faces. “Give us the murderer and we will think about what will happen to the rest of you. Blood must have blood, _Skaigada_ ”.

Anya took a step back towards her hoarse. “You have until sundown”, the woman growled as she climbed on the animal’s back with a flinch, and pulled her hood over her hair. “Come on, Zack”.

The redhead man closed his fist again, causing the small ball of fire to disappear and he straightened his back, walking a couple of steps back towards his own dark brown horse and climbing onto it, his black eyes never leaving Clarke. He looked at her until the horse turned around and the two Grounders sprinted to the huge camp again.

“Clarke, are you okay?!” her mother was in front of her right away and the blonde could only nod slowly, taking a deep breath, trying to forget the fire’s warmth on her skin. “Did he hurt you?”

“Mom, I’m okay”, she mumbled and turned away, her eyes stopping on Finn right away. He had taken a few steps closer as well, eyes concerned and soft and she looked at him and felt nothing, the words _three children_ still echoing through her mind. Stiffly, she approached him and had to hold herself back from slapping him. “They want you”, she said. “They want us to give you to them or they will kill us all”.

“No”, Raven shook her head, gulping hard, eyes already filling with tears. “We can’t give him up. We can find another way. Clarke…”

“I can’t do anything, Raven”, the blonde looked numb when she met the mechanic’s tortured eyes. She looked at Finn again, his dark gaze lightly more hardened. “I don’t know what to do. It’s all up to you, I guess”.

“Give him up!” someone shouted.

“Give the bastard to them!”

“There monsters will burn us up alive either way!”

“Take him inside”, Clarke snapped at a guard when the shouts started getting louder. The man nodded and took Finn by the arm, Bellamy and Octavia helping Raven and Clarke through the crowd as well, dodging a punch or a kick and getting them inside the Ark, just as the Grounders stared shouting the same phrase once again.

\-----

Anya gritted her teeth as she climbed down of the horse’s back, her side more hurt than she’d ever admit out loud. A moment later, Zack’s young Second was rushing towards them, taking the reins from both warriors, leading the animals away, with a soft _thank you_ from both Anya and Zack.

The warriors around them sat together in groups, talking in rushed and angry tones, all of them still full of rage for the dead innocents, turning to look at them as they passed. Most of them looked at Anya, who was now known as the woman who escaped the Mountain, warriors of both clans looking at her with respect and awe.

The Commander’s big tent was placed to the side of the front part of the huge camp, looking at the Ark from a right angle. Anya gave a sharp nod at the two guards and walked between them without a second glance, pausing at the sight in front of her. A wave of regret passed her for a moment as she watched her former second on the ground, sitting still and quiet, the general falling silent, feeling like she’d interrupted something holy.

In the middle of the tent, Lexa was sitting crossed length on the ground, surrounded by candles, piles of fresh dirt, rocks and cups full of clean water. The air around the tent was lightly blowing the brown hair back, a small frown upon the Commander’s face. Her hands were placed on her knees, long fingers shifting mindlessly, the weak flames staying still not affected by the air, the water moving just lightly inside the cups and the small rocks moving from time to time.

“Relax your back”, Anya couldn’t help but point out quietly, her calm voice travelling through the peaceful silence, causing a tiny smile to tug the corner of the Avatar’s lips and the air blowing with less force around the tent. A soft sigh was taken in and then the flames started moving in their natural way, the water stayed unmoving and the rocks on the floor kept still and green eyes opening slowly.

“How did it go?” Lexa’s voice was hoarse, relaxed and sleepy, tired eyes looking up at the woman who had been with her through her every step of her way.

“I don’t think they will give him willingly. They may try help him run”.

Lexa reached for a cup of water and brought it up to her mouth, taking a sip, licking her lips right after. “You think they _will_ give him though”.

“They don’t have a choice”, Anya leaned her hip against a table. “He has nowhere to run to”.

“No”, the Avatar sighed, as she placed the cup back down and her hand returned on her knee. “He really doesn’t”. Green eyes looked up at Anya steadily. “Still clueless about their abilities?”

The Earthbender rolled her eyes. “If they even have any. What will you do if a war comes up? All of your warriors are willing to fight, claim their revenge”.

“There won’t be a war”, the Commander sighed and smoothly stood up, stepping away from the circle she had made. “If they refuse to give that boy, Zack will send his men and we will end this before the next dawn; our losses will be minimal this time”.

Anya nodded, recalling the dead bodies of her warriors. She studied the Commander moving around the room like an Airbender, soft steps, relaxed moves and hard face, the sight so different from the young kid she had trained. The sight of the soft moves was usual for most people seeing the Avatar in Polis but not for Anya and the warrior took in every second of it. The tightened mix of melancholy and pride threatened to choke the Earthbender and the warrior had to clear her burning throat before talking again.

“If I may… How long are you staying?” the warrior dared to voice her question with an informal tone. She hated talking to Lexa like a general but there were rules that even _she_ couldn’t ignore.

Something flashed behind the green stoic eyes, so fast that Anya thought she had imagined it, but the Avatar was turning her way not even a split second later, letting her guarding expression drop. “Spirits know. The things in Polis are tense so maybe I should be going soon. _Azgeda_ keeps pushing for changes before the winter comes”, Lexa sighed tiredly. “I expect a rider to arrive tomorrow, so I guess we will find out soon enough”.

“Have you slept?” Anya couldn’t keep the worry more and Lexa looked at her former mentor and shook her head, almost forgetting the reason she had pushed the older woman away the last couple of months. Oh right… _Azgeda_ was full on threatening all over again. Anya felt something tightening in her chest. “What can I do, Lexa?”

The Avatar inhaled deeply at the sound of her name, still not used at hearing it been said so casually. Gustus would never say it, even if they did spend most of their time together nowadays and Indra wouldn’t even dare calling her by it. Titus was the only one who voiced it at times back in Polis but one of her titles was always present with it. Anya’s concerned dark brown eyes were one more unfamiliar thing to her and the brunette let her shoulders fall forwards.

“Would you stay with me until dawn?” Lexa sighed, blinking her eyes one single time at the simple nod of her old friend’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It gives some answers about Skaikru's bending, right? The whole story will come later on though, this just gives the main picture.
> 
> Clexa first meeting coming up next, people! Some shit will be heated up lightly ;)
> 
> Sorry for the small chapter, I know it doesn't give much, I just wanted to build up some dynamics between the characters. A small bridge for what is gonna happen later on.
> 
> Tell me what you think, what you liked, what you didn't like, what you would like to see more. Leave comments and kudos, guys, I love the feedback!


	4. Chapter 4

“This is not a good idea”. Abby was surprised that her voice came out without cracking. Only the idea of her daughter going into a camp full of grounders was terrifying, having her actually doing it was even worse.

Clarke didn’t even look at her mother as she walked towards the gates with a fast pace. Bellamy was next to her, trying to keep up with her, surprised that the blonde could walk so quickly and for a split second, she wondered where Finn had been hiding all day. She thought it was better for everyone if he stayed out of sight until this mess passed.

“Stay here”, Clarke hissed at Bellamy, passing the wide-eyed guards and almost running to the camp that was set up outside Arkadia. Grounders looked up at her with narrowed eyes but no one approached as she set a slower pace, looking around at the huge warriors with sudden hesitation and a hint of fear. She had hoped to find Anya right away but the woman was nowhere in sight.

However, the redhead man, Zack or whatever his name was, stood up and with hard eyes approached the girl and stood a feet away from him, looking straight into her blue eyes with unreadable expression. His arms were folded over his chest and in that stance he looked taller and much thinner than before, his eyes as black as coal. “What do you want, girl?”

Clarke gulped the nervousness, trying to shake the image of his burning hand out of her mind and focus on forming proper words. “I wish to talk to your Commander”, she said with steady voice, despite her fear.

The black eyes seemed to harden even more and he looked at her for a long time before nodding and turning on his heels, walking away. Clarke rushed to follow the man, aware of some warriors walking right behind her. Some of them were full of muscles and strong moves, some others tall and thin like Zack, with less clothes and smaller deathly weapons in their hold. _People from two Nations_ , Clarke thought, her eyes catching sight of the woman she was looking for in the first place, ducking out of the tent Zack was leading her to. A huge man exited behind Anya, a scowl over his face as soon as his eyes settled on Clarke.

Zack and Anya exchanged a few words and then the woman entered the tent again, staying in there for some long moments, more and more guards gathering around. Clarke was starting to think that they’d sent her back, but the warrior came back outside and said something at the huge man next to her, who nodded and looked back at Clarke with a hard expression over his tattooed face.

“If you so much as look at her the wrong way, I will slit your throat”.

Clarke could only nod at the harsh words, blinking one single time and entering the tent behind Anya, her eyes immediately stopping on the throne across from her. A dark skinned woman, Clarke had never seen before, was standing next to it, blowing power with her simple presence and without a word, Anya took her place next to her, the guard stepping close to the woman on the throne as well.

“You are the one who burned three hundred of my warriors alive”.

Clarke couldn’t really think anything else but the word _calmness_ as she looked at the woman who sat on the throne. Warpaint painted her eyes and cheeks, forming a curious shape on her face, three wavering lines of black paint travelling down her high cheekbones, like they were made by a monster’s claws. Long brown hair was pulled back in a million little braids, a knife in her long fingers. Heavy dark clothes protected her upper body, a long red sash falling from her shoulder and tight pants perfectly hugging her long legs. The woman had a power that Clarke had never seen before and in those few seconds; she managed to take her all in, trying to come up with _anything_ to say back at her, trying to ignore the sudden warmth that travelled down her body at the sound of the deep voice.

“You are the one who sent them there to kill us”.

Something sparked in the dark eyes and Clarke thought she saw the soft flames of the candles growing a bit taller, a hissing cracking sound echoing in the tent as the air suddenly felt heavier, lightly speeding up. The brunette twisted the knife around and she pushed the very tip of the blade in the wooden arm of the throne, a soft metallic sound echoing in the silence.

“You have an answer for me, Clarke of the Sky People?”

“I’ve come to make you an offer”, Clarke said, surprised with herself that her voice came out that steady. The woman licked her lips looking lightly impatient. The blonde looked over at Anya, getting a blank look back. “I am sure that Anya told you about it”.

“You should leave Anya out of this”. The Commander tilted her chin up a bit slightly, while the Earthbender raised an eyebrow at the blonde girl. “One of your people killed eighteen innocents. We will talk about your offer after you bring me the murderer”. Dark dangerous eyes flashed again and now Clarke was sure that the fire was moving in an unnatural pace. “Blood _must_ have blood, _Skaigada_ ”.

Clarke licked her dry lips at the phrase she heard for the second time in one day and taking a deep breath she looked up in the brunette’s dark eyes. They could not give up, Finn. She couldn’t let them torture him and before taking the oxygen out of his lungs by whatever control this woman had over the air. Lincoln's face had been an emotionless mask as he described what would happen to Finn once he was tied up on a tree but Clarke had seen his eyes sparkling with fear and sadness. Whatever Finn had done… that was not Finn and most of the people in Camp Jaha knew it. They needed the old Finn, the Finn that would sit beside her and stargaze and help them take down the Mountain just to save their friends, the Finn that cared and laughed and didn’t have that pained expression over his face most of the time.

“Our people are trapped inside the Mountain, same as yours”, Clarke tried getting some confidence by the new focus she got from the Commander. “We have the weapons and technology that can get us inside. If we work together, we can get all of them out of there. But to get there, we need Finn. We need…”

“ _Heda_!” a shout came from outside and everyone inside the tent paused and the woman on the throne turned to look at the huge guard. All it took was a small twist of her head to the side and the man walked passed Clarke and towards the exit, just as Zack walked in. “The murderer gave himself up”. His emotionless eyes for the first time showed excitement.

Clarke felt sick as the words hit her, blue eyes closing and a deep breath being taken in. She felt like someone splashed her with ice cold water and she didn’t even move when she heard the Commander giving orders in her native language. An emotional pain had her stomach clenching and her chest feeling heavy, black, blue and purple dots dancing behind her closed eyelids as a pain so read gripped her head tightly in its hold. She just needed to throw up but a hand on her arm had her straightening her back and blinking her eyes open, only to find Anya standing in front of her with a worried and questioning face.

The Commander was quickly walking towards the man with a sword in her hand, not even throwing a glance at Clarke and Anya, walking past them with a hard frown over her face. Clarke took in a deep breath, shrugging Anya off and feeling rage crawling its way up her body as she thought about the people who let Finn out of their sight for even a second. She didn’t hesitate to follow the Grounders outside, leaving a shocked Anya frozen behind all alone, looking at the candles that were suddenly set on fire around the tent, an explosion of flames and smoke and sparks.

It rose up quickly, the flames licking the cloth of the Commander’s tent dangerously, the smoke clouding the room in seconds. The candles melted into small puddles in a couple of moments, dripping over the wooden surface of the table they were placed on, the flames wrapping around the wood like a snake wrapped around its prey. The speed of which the sparks flew to the ground, ready to burn up the carpet had Anya moving, a bucket of water in her hold in seconds, putting down the strong fire, rocks and dirt flying inside and covering the remains of the fire completely, before it could damage anything else. Deep down, the warrior wasn’t that shocked that Clarke was a Firebender, she had seen the determination in he eyes lightening up like a flame on dry leaves, but she was just surprised that the girl’s power was so strong. She needed to talk about it to Lexa as soon as humanly possible.

Outside in the chilly air, Clarke was frozen in place for a completely different reason. A shudder was slowly running down her back, leaving her even weaker and she was sure that she could hear Raven’s desperate cries from the Ark. The stronger urge to throw up came over her again as she took in Finn with his face full of dirt and blood and his body fallen on his knees, a spear on his back, a blade in his exposed throat. The grounders’ faces were twisted with anger as they glared down at the boy who had killed their people but no one dared to move when the Commander appeared and walked towards them with hard eyes.

“ _Is this the murderer_?” The Commander growled and a few people nodded up at her, already feeling the air blowing stronger around them, hissing slightly as it passed by. The anger in the woman’s face was unmistaken and after a stiff nod, two warriors of Indra’s village rushed to grab the groaning boy and tie him up on the tree.

The sun had gone down completely by now, all the light coming from the tall torches which were burning around the camp in various places. Clarke was quietly staring at Finn being dragged towards the huge pole that was set up at the front and she knew that she couldn’t do anything to save the boy from his death. From the camp, Raven seemed to know it too, the agony in the girl’s shouts, hitting Clarke with force. She couldn’t save him from his death but she could save him from the pain.

Her legs were shaking as she walked to the Commander with Anya a step behind her. The warrior didn’t stop her from approaching the brunette but she did lock her hand around her arm to slow her down slightly, not wanting anyone misunderstanding her intentions. The Avatar turned her head and looked at Clarke expressionless, taking in the agony in the girl’s eyes. “He did it for me. Everything he did, the people he killed, he did it for me and I was…” Clarke didn’t bother stopping the hot tears from falling, Raven’s pain echoing through the clearing and making her chest hurt. She’d to stop his pain, she had to save him from the pain. “Can I say goodbye?”

Clarke thought she saw something flashing behind the Avatar’s hard face and with dull eyes and a small nod, she gave Clarke her permeation to run to Finn, the blonde almost tripping on her way to him. The boy’s gaze settled on her with relief and pain, a small sad smile tugging his lips at the sight of the blonde, hiding his face in blonde hair, inhaling deeply.

Clarke held in a sob and hugged him tightly against her, her silent tears making his black shirt wet. “What did you do? I could have saved you”.

The boy let one more smile, pulling a bit back and looking down at the blue eyes he was in love with, wanting to brush away the few blond strands of hair falling in front of them. “It was the only way”. He could feel the blade ripping his shirt and a part of his skin and he had to clench his jaw to stop himself from crying out when more and more metal went through him. "Lincoln told Octavia that the people of the village were not benders. They were just innocent people and couldn't protect themselves, Clarke, and I... I did that and..."

Hot blood ran down Clarke’s fingers and she closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against Finn’s shoulder, taking in some shaken breaths. He was bleeding and trying to keep in the gasps of pain and Clarke pressed closer, to hide the blood that dripped on the ground. “Shhh... You’re going to be okay”, she choked out as she felt more tears and hot blood coming out of the boy. “You are going to be alright”.

_The fire cracked in front of them as they watched the rest of the hundred laughing among themselves, their stomachs full and their eyes happy. It was going to be a cold night but the flames chased away the chilly air gladly, giving them warmth and light._

_The air blew around them a bit more, wavering slightly as it got near the flames and then Finn was leaning closer, a playful glint in his eyes. “Someone told me that you like to paint people”._

_Clarke turned to look at him with a side smile. “So?”_

_“This is a nice image”, Finn waved his hand towards the teens that burst out laughing again, their bodies melting a bit more near the bonfire. “The most calm they’ve been in a while”._

_“True”, Clarke snorted. The fire cracked lightly along with her, pulling both of their eyes away from the sleepy teens and getting lost in the comforting flames._

_Finn nudged her, passing her a folded paper and a pencil, making her laugh. “Where are you even getting those from, Finn? Are you going to show me or what?”_

_“Tomorrow night, princess”, he laughed as well. His eyes sparkled as the air blew by and passed between Clarke’s blonde hair, making them fall into her eyes. He didn’t hesitate before reaching up to push it away, smiling widely at the girl’s blush. “Sooo, are you going to draw them for me?”_

A silent groan left Finn’s mouth as pain took over and he felt dizziness washing over him with every passing second. His head felt heavy and he let it rest against the blonde’s shoulder, his chest feeling heavy. “I love you, Clarke”, he managed to breathe out and he felt the girl let out a sob, her body rocking slightly against his, pain increasing even more.

“I love you too”, she whispered in his shirt, gulping and pushing more of the knife in her hand in his stomach, closing her eyes as she felt his heart slow down lightly. “You are okay now”.

“Thanks, Princess”.

Another sob ripped out of her mouth as she felt his head settle on her as a dead weight and she slowly pulled back, taking the blade with her and feeling the need to crawl in a ball and never get up. She felt like she had stubbed herself, the pain she felt taking over her body and brain, making more than one torch being set on a wild blasting fire. The angry and afraid shouts that were heard from the Grounders were a buzz in her ears but she clearly heard the Commander’s strong voice stopping her warriors from putting her up against a pole to take the blood themselves.

“It is done!” the Commander shouted and the blue tortured eyes looked up at dark ones looking at her, seeing nothing but an odd understanding in them.

The wind around them had quietened down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, people! Clexa first meeting finally happened. Not so warm, huh? Sorry it's gonna take some time for them to grow a bit closer.
> 
> About Finn. I don't know, guys, I liked the guy in the beginning of season one before we found out about Raven. Damn, in season two he went so fucking crazy that I couldn't stand him. I remember yelling at the screen every time. No way I would keep him around for long. But he did play a huge part to Raven's storyline and I needed that even if that's gonna change a bit in this story. Small flashbacks here and there about him in the future.
> 
> Also, Clarke setting some stuff on fire? What did you think about that?
> 
> Please leave comments down below to tell me your thoughts, I love the feedback. Also, please excuse any mistakes, English is not my first language. Stay safe, you beautiful human beings, next one is coming up soon and we're gonna find out what the hell is going on with the Arkers and their bending abilities!


	5. Chapter 5

Clarke could only watch Raven’s blank eyes as they walked through the trees, the girl’s body popped up on the cart with Finn’s body. The two hadn’t exchanged more than a few looks but the blonde had a feeling that they both needed the space. Her mother told her that Finn made up his mind and had rushed to the grounders’ camp without telling anyone and they understood he was missing only when he was caught. No one was able to tell him about Clarke being there but everyone thought that he wouldn’t have changed his actions even if he knew.

Now they were travelling to one of the Grounders’ villages, following the two horses at the front and silently listening to the warriors around them talking in their native language. Not all of them had left their camp outside Camp Jaha but the bigger number had vanished the night before, leaving five hundred warriors behind, the rest of them going wherever they were supposed to go and honestly, Clarke did not really want to know.

The grief was a throbbing sensation inside her chest, a weight she couldn’t shake off as much as she tried. She felt like someone had pushed their hand inside her gut and was twisting it with cold fingers, wave after wave of strong shivers making her back stand straighter each time, to the point that the girl thought her spine would break from the pressure. It was a pain that she had felt years ago, after her father’s death and she was sure that the people around her could see how much she was hurting, despite her want to hide it all.

Because whatever Finn had done, Clarke couldn’t shake the memory of his kind eyes, his determination for peace, the softness he had showed her during the first days on the ground. She didn’t know what had snapped inside him during her time in Mount Weather, she didn’t know if it was the darkness of the battle with the grounders, the things he had to witness and do to survive before he was found by the guards. Clarke glanced over at Raven’s fallen shoulders and felt bile rising up her throat. _What had she done to this girl?_ Clarke sighed loudly, feeling her blood draining from her face as tiredness overtook her body for a second.

Anya was always a bit too close to her, an odd link between Clarke and the Avatar, sometimes walking by her side, sometimes looking up at the brunette on the white worse. The woman kept a worried eye on both women; split between offering silent support to Lexa, who had to deal with the Ice Queen and a war that could have many loses and keeping an eye on the newfound young Firebender that had power that no one could think of.

Zack was also looking the sky girl, a bit worried about the amount of power she had showed at the camp the night before but not totally surprised by Anya’s words. The blonde skygirl had a spark in her eyes that could burn forests, a determination that reminded him of a strong flame and even though he didn’t like the blonde girl, he’d help her control her bending as best as he could.

Only Clarke was not aware of what had happened back in the camp. She didn’t know about the fire she had started in the Commander’s tent, she didn’t know about the torches that had been burned to the ground when Finn’s head stayed lifeless on her shoulder. And, unlike Bellamy, her mother and Octavia, the blonde didn’t care about the side looks the grounders shot her way or how often the Commander turned her head to look at her after some words from Anya.

The trip to the camp was long and everyone kept quiet most of the time, Clarke’s head spinning with Finn’s thought and Bellamy’s strategy about the Mount Weather. The atmosphere was the complete opposite from the joyful shouts that were heard when wooden walls appeared in front of them, most warriors walking past them to get inside their village. The small number that stayed behind ordered the sky people to give their weapons, their expressions not taking _no_ as an answer. Some hesitant looks were thrown at the blonde’s way as the sky people were finally allowed to get inside the village, a hard look from the Commander making them keep their mouths shut.

Inside, more and more people turned to welcome their Avatar, cheers for her safe arrival echoing through the clearing. The warm welcoming was cut short though, as soon as the citizens understood that the Sky People were walking in as well, cheers turning into angry shouting, some words in English and some others in their native language. Clarke and Bellamy looked around in worry, sharing a glance when a man dared to step in front of the Commander, whose face was as hard as stone.

A few angry words were said by the man and Lexa was turning her head in a tiny nod, making the huge warrior, Gustus, step forwards and raise his arm, a stone at the size of a football flying their way and hitting the short man straight in the jaw, making him collapse on the hard ground with a groan of pain that turned into agony as the rock came back down on his face, dark thick blood splashing on the ground.

Clarke snapped out of her thoughts as the rock came up again and she rushed to the Commander’s side, keeping her voice low. “Commander, stop him. They will blame this on us too”. Her voice was trembling as one more pained groan escaped the man mouth when the rock collided with his throat with force. He choked, his arms coming up around his neck, blood tickling from the cracks of his fingers.

Lexa licked her lips and sighed out an order, the bloody stone falling on the dirt with a _thub_ , Gustus stepping back. Immediately, Clarke pulled away from the woman and caught Anya’s blank face looking at her with a raised eyebrow, turning her gaze away right away and looking back at the Commander taking a few steps forwards, spinning around to look at the people who had gathered around with half blank, half terrified faces.

“The Sky People will fight with us against the Mountain”, her voice rung through the clearing, eyes hard and almost burning. Clarke noticed that the air around them had started to pick up pace just lightly, leaves and dust flying off the ground. Clarke’s red and bloodshot eyes turned back on Anya to see her watching the Commander with a frown over her serious face. “Anyone who tries to stop that, will pay with their life”, Lexa added with an almost growl and turned around, walking away from the clearing and barking an order at Indra.

The older woman approached them with her usual hard expression over her face, meeting Anya halfway and exchanging a few words in their native language, shooting a couple of looks towards the Arkers who stood exactly where they were left, still in shock by the brutality they’d just witnessed. Most of the grounders had left as well, shooting them some deathly glares as they walked away.

“The funeral will take place at dawn”, Anya suddenly looked at them and addressed them. “In the mind time, follow us. We need to find out if any of you have the ability of bending”.

She turned in her heels without waiting an answer next to Indra. Everyone shared a few long looks and rushed behind the two women as they walked through glaring people and a couple of curious children. Indra led them to the middle of the village, to a building standing to the side and she walked inside, Anya pausing and holding the wooden door open for the Sky people to follow her.

The room was dark and Anya ordered them to wait, a hard look over her face as she walked to a second brighter room, helping Indra set up a table. They watched the two women placing four objects on the surface before stepping a few feet back, turning to look at the six Arkers.

“I don’t think any of us need that”, Bellamy’s voice was hard as he looked Anya and Indra in the eyes, standing taller under their hard gazes.

“We don’t like to take chances”, Anya said. “If there’s a bender between your people it is good for us to know it. Letting your power over the elements untrained can have many deaths and destruction”.

“I think if we had this ability we would have known”, Bellamy kept on going, stopping only when Kane reached his hand and gripped the boy’s upper arm.

“I asked for this”, Kane said all of the sudden, making seven pairs of eyes turn to him. “Byrne found the Chancellor’s book and many things were written in it. We will have to talk later today about some things our old scientists had pointed out”.

“Marcus”, Indra called the man and nodded to him to approach. He did not hesitate to walk up to them, Anya gesturing him to sit on a chair. “Look at each object on the table”, Indra continued. “Focus on them and your bending will do the rest”.

Kane frowned and turned to look at the four simple objects on the table in front of him; a long burning candle, a bowl with water, a grey rock to the size of his palm and a glass with something that looked like red dust inside. The man took a deep breath, curious and focused on each object, gulping the sudden knot in his throat when the water in the wooden bowl moved, a couple of bubbles appearing in the surface like someone dropped something inside. However, both grounders in the room with him, stood with their arms crossed over their chests, a look passing between them.

“You are a Waterbender, Marcus of the Sky People”, Anya said, a tiny shiver running down her back at the reminder of the previous war they had with _Azgeda_. “You can control the water and the ice. I guess Clarke has informed you about this power and the Nations”. She waited for the man’s nod to keep going. “Another Waterbender is travelling from their Clan to meet all the new Waterbenders that will be found. You will talk to them once they arrive. You may go”. Marcus slowly nodded and moved from the room with a deep frown on his face, not saying a word as he walked out.

“ _Bellomy_ ”, Anya called out and the boy stood up and approached, sitting on the chair much calmer than before, his eyes lost and questionable as they followed Kane go. It took less time for one of the objects to start moving; the rock on the table starting to tremble and making Indra smirk just slightly, Anya nodding at Bellamy. “You can start your training sooner than Marcus… That is sure”, she said, nodding towards the exit. “You are an Earthbender like us”.

“Next one”, Indra said quietly.

Abby… Airbender.  
Raven… Firebender.  
Octavia… Earthbender.

“Clarke”, Anya called out last, Indra already out of the room to lead the rest of the Sky People to the place where the funeral would take place. “I need to talk to you. Sit with me for a moment”.

The blonde moved like in a dream, sitting in front of the table, watching the flame on the candle moving almost instantly, growing a bit stronger, raising farther up, longer. She slowly looked up at the woman she’d saved from the Mountain, a shiver running down her back as she found serious dark eyes watching her the whole time. Anya let out a sigh and grabbed a second chair, sitting on the other side of the cracked table and turning her eyes up on the blonde.

“You are a Firebender”, Anya said slowly, her eyes so focused on Clarke that neither of them could look away from one another. “A very powerful Firebender, I have to say. You almost started a huge fire two nights ago, without you even knowing it. You burned down a _tent_ when you killed the boy”. Anya noted the hard flinch the blonde gave, the fire in the candle moving a bit sharper. “You need to learn how to control this power. Or you will burn down a whole forest without meaning to”.

“Okay”, Clarke’s voice was rough, her eyes glassy over Finn’s death being mentioned. “Why are you keeping me here?”

“We don’t have a Firebender as strong as you”, Anya said, leaning back with her gaze still locked with Clarke’s. “The only one we know isn’t able to travel now. The only other one who can help you is the Avatar. I know Lexa is the one who ordered the boy’s death and I know he was special to you”, the blonde shook her head. “Clarke, listen to me. She’s…”

“Ruthless?” Clarke growled the word out, remembering Indra’s words to her mother. “Strong? Stoic and hard? Emotionless?” Clarke shook her head again.

“Listen to me”, Anya growled back. “You need to learn how to control your powers or you could set the whole world in fire and burn us all in seconds. I am the only one who knows. Zack does not know the strength you have in you, but I saw it. If anyone else finds how much power you have, you’ll be killed the very next day. And watch your mouth when you talk about the Avatar. People won’t take such words kindly”.

“I will think about it”, Clarke snapped as she walked past Anya outside, the warrior sighing and slowly closing the door behind her, neither of them seeing the water moving in the bowl slightly.

\-----

Clarke sat heavily next to the fire, her fingers gripping the bowl of soup tightly, not minding the burning heat. The village still smelled of burned flesh and ashes and the scent had a bile of vomit gathering at the back of the blonde’s throat. She wanted a few hours of sleep before the war meeting in the morning.

The funeral was mostly quiet, twelve dead bodies being placed on and around a pile of logs, flowers and plants being placed around to cover slightly the smell of burning skin. If only, Clarke found the mix of scents making her dizzy but she’d seen the rest of the grounders breathing normally, their breath not catching in her lungs like the Arkers’ and looking like they had stood in front of such a fire a million times before.

Clarke thought of Lexa as she had stood there next to her for a long time, long after the flames had died down, long after the pile of wood and corpses had turned into white ashes and small pieces of burned bones. The Commander had been silent, her hands and neck twisting from time to time, making the flames burn harder at times, making the air blow away from Clarke’s direction. She had looked like a completely different person as she stood there, her eyes dull with a past pain and grief, her face relaxed and calm and so not similar to the Commander’s hard expression Clarke had seen on her before. It was like the funeral had dragged out a more human version of the brunette, a younger one, a pained one. Clarke was curious about this change, the questions about the Commander’s life chasing away her grief for a few moments.

Been given some hints of Lexa’s past did not help and as Clarke now sat next to this small fire, she thought of a younger Commander having to face the death of a loved one. _Had she stood in front of Costia’s fire and thought that her love was weakness? Did that thought come long after? Did an advisor tell her that? The Commander did have advisors, right?_ It seemed logical that there was someone in that position. _Was this world so cruel that they thought of emotions as weakness? Or was it just Lexa? It was just the leaders? Did Lexa think of her like someone who had to take decisions in the future that couldn’t be stopped by emotions? How cruel could Clarke grow to be if needed_? A shudder passed down the blonde’s body at the thought, forcing her wet eyes back on the fire and the people around her, ignoring her mother’s questioning look.

“What’s this about?” Bellamy asked as he took a seat next to her, his eyes on Kane.

“It’s about this”, Kane answered and lifted a dark brown book, the Chancellor’s book. It was thick with short pages and small letters, golden faded color used for the title. “I found some interesting paragraphs that explain our own ability to bend elements”.

Raven shifted in her own seat slightly. “So you mean that the Chancellor knew about all this but never informed anyone. I don’t even know why that’s shocking”.

“After the bombs, the Ark had a big number of scientists among the people that fled Earth. They started running tests on the rest of the people, finding many changes in their DNA caused by the radiation that came long before the bombs”.

Clarke looked up as Anya walked up to their small circle and took a seat near Abby and Raven, a bowl of soup in her own hands, her face cleaned off the warpaint. She looked calm here, the fire in her eyes having lessened in a relaxed and almost sleepy gaze. It was a lot different, a good different.

“So, you’re saying that bending was caused by the radiation?” Raven frowned.

Anya leaned forwards, looking thoughtful. “The elders say that our abilities started to appear after _Praimfaya_ , the fire that destroyed the old world. They say that the air was toxic then, killing millions. The ones that survived were different though, with powers over the four elements. They managed to build the world we live in, with its rules and its order and balance. But it took years to do so, with many deaths during that time, because they didn’t know how to properly use their bending abilities”.

“The Chancellor’s book”, Kane spoke up, “speaks of the dangers of mankind if the people were aware of their unknown powers. There were many accidents during the first years, of people being burned alive or being suffocating because their partner did not know how to control themselves. The Chancellor and the scientist figured it was best to keep the people in the dark and find a way to block their bending power. It was the begging of the medicine we put in our water”.

“High solar radiation my ass”, Raven mumbled, looking into the fire in front of her.

“How did they keep the people quiet?” Octavia asked out of nowhere. She had sat a bit farther away, next to Lincoln, both of them listening quietly.

“They floated them”, Abby answered slowly, not taking her eyes off the fire.

A long piece of wood cracked at the bottom of the fire, sending sparks flying around. Clarke looked at the flames hugging it smoothly as its color turned slowly white and then black. The rest of the fire grew lightly longer, the flames shifting swiftly to the side, towards Raven and then they jumped away, sparks flying towards Clarke’s feet. Her blue eyes rose up to meet Raven’s darker ones. The mechanic gulped and stared back, before looking away slowly, a tear threatening to fall down her cheek. Clarke cleared her throat and Raven wiped the tear away, both of them blinking, the fire returning to its natural dance.

“So I guess we should start training soon”, Bellamy mumbled, looking between the two Firebenders. Raven seemed to curl farther into herself while Clarke straightened her back nervously at the thought of tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, before I start rambling about this chapter, I would like to point out some stuff that I've seen popping up once or twice about the relationship between the Arkers and the Grounders. First of all, the whole plot of season one is very relevant here, with the battle between the 100 and Anya's 300 warriors, the explotion of the bridge, the villages that were burned down and the whole incident with Lincoln in the dropship and Jasper in the first episode. So we are talking about a rather... tense relationhip between the two groups of people and this will be showned through verbal (and physical) fighting during the story. This means that there were be false accusations been thrown here and there at, perhaps, the wrong indivituals.
> 
> Second, the Grounders believe that Clarke is the leader of the whole number of Skaikru. So they would talk to her about same stuff they would talk to their own leaders and generals, calling her to make decisions. And not just Lexa. There are going to be simple warriors that will come to Clarke about her people's faults, regardless of her role in them. They will adress her as the Arkers' leader, just like Anya did in chapter three about Finn.
> 
> Last one I promise. This is not a story that will have only happy moments. There will be accusations and betrayals, among other things, and both the Grounders and the Arkers will make mistakes when it comes to understanding and working with each other. This is not an ideal world and both people are in a truce just because they have a bigger enemy that threats them both. At this point, it is very easy for them to go back killing one another. The trust between them will take some time to build. I would like to ask you to have this on your mind as the story keeps going.
> 
> Back to this now. It answers some questions, right? Does the whole Skaikru have bending abilities?! Clexa training??? Is Clarke gonna do it???? After Finn?? Who knows... (I do, obviously, but whatever)
> 
> Tell me your ideas of this story, guys, details you would like me to add, I still have gaps to add some stuff! Leave a comment and kudos to tell me what you think, I love your thoughts! Soooo, until next time, have a great time and stay safe, you beautiful human beings!
> 
> PS. Tell me what you think of Raven, guys. I have trouble writing this amazing girl.


	6. Chapter 6

_"You son of a bitch!”_

_A disbelieved chuckle. “Whoa there, what’s your problem?”_

_“Recognize this?”_

_“That’s my knife, where did you find it?”_

_“Where you dropped it after you killed Wells”._

_“Where I did what? The grounders killed Wells, not me”._

_“I know what you did and you’re gonna pay for it”._

_“Really”, Murphy’s eyes betrayed that he was already done with the whole thing. His whole body was relaxed, his gaze almost bored. Clarke knew this wasn’t the first time he was being accused for something. “Bellamy, you believe this crap?”_

_Clarke pressed an inch closer, getting his attention back. “You threatened to kill him, we all heard you. Everyone knows you hated him”._

_His eyes turned back to find the blue ones. Clarke was in rage, her body leaning close to him, challenging him as much as she could. She knew that Bellamy would not talk for Murphy. Not when she looked like she was ready to get into a fight. It would be almost comical if the grief in her voice wasn’t present._

_“Many people hated Wells. His father was the Chancellor”._

_“You are the only one who got into a knife fight with him!”_

_Rage started to cloud his mind slightly but he kept his cool, focusing at the sound of the forest moving around them, the sound of one hundred people breathing heavily, the faint sound of a close fire cracking, spitting sparks and smoke._

_“Yeah, I didn’t kill him then either”._

_“He tried to kill Jasper too”, a voice spoke up, his dark eyes raising to look at the little Blake, moving around her brother. Behind her, the boy addressed jolted back slightly, his eyes turning to the small guy next to him, people starting to rumble around them._

_Murphy felt a drop of sweat sliding down his finger and he clenched his suddenly wet hand, feeling his throat closing up in anger. His lips pulled back in a deadly smile. “This is ridiculous. I don’t have to answer to you, I don’t have to answer to anyone!”_

_“Come again”._

_He paused at Bellamy’s hard tone, knowing he was the only logical person around this damn camp. He walked closer to the guy. “Bellamy. I’m telling you man, I didn’t do this”._

_The older boy’s eyes were thoughtful, like he believed him. “They found his fingers on the ground next to your knife”._

_Clarke was done with them both. “Is this the kind of society that we want?” she spoke up. “You say that there are no rules, does that mean we can kill each other without… without punishment?”_

_“I already told you, I didn’t kill anyone!”_

_“I say we float him!”_

_Clarke span around, eyes hardening at the sounds of agreement. “That is not what I am saying”, she growled out._

_“Why not?” the guy’s eyes looked dangerous, heated up with the need of blood. “He deserves to be floated. It’s justice”. Clarke’s body turned now, almost like she wanted to hide Murphy from this boy’s line of sight. She felt her anger for Murphy fleeing to the teenagers around her and she clenched her jaw, almost feeling like the ground shook under her feet._

_“Revenge isn’t justice”, she growled out, stepping closer to him._

_“It is justice”, he spoke up, turning around. “Float him! Float him!”_

_The phrase started to ring around the crowd, faces changing to excitement and some into fear, confusion and then anger and something so, so dangerous. Clarke turned to find Murphy’s eyes filling with dread and fear, his body tensing up as he look around, his shoulders slightly curling inwards like he wanted to make himself smaller, his shirt and skin damp and wet with so much sweat that it dripped from his fingers. He wiped them away mindlessly, shifting back._

Clarke jolted awake just as his body started to move, her breathing heavy. Her hands were trembling as they rose up to press against her aching eyes, her body relaxing as the memory started to fade from her mind slowly. She didn’t know why that specific memory came to her sleep but she was glad it flew away as soon as she woke up. It’d take some time to fall back asleep that was sure.

The village was quiet at night, the only sound being the rain falling hard against the wood, the muffled sound of thunders echoing at times, the quick flash of a lightening appearing for a few seconds. Lincoln had told them that the nature was grieving with the families of the people that had been burned earlier that evening. Clarke thought she could still smell the ash and the smoke of the burning bodies.

Clarke rolled on her other side, the old wood of her bed letting out a few protests at the weight. She looked out of the small window above her mother’s bed, at the fast drops of heavy rain that fell with force against the dirty old glass. It was difficult not to think about earlier and, specifically, it was difficult not to think about the Avatar, the grief in her eyes when she talked about her dead lover. Clarke didn’t expect it, of course she didn’t, and now, she couldn’t stop thinking that maybe, she should give Lexa a chance. She _was_ the best bender of the elements after all.

Her stomach growled, cutting off her thought for a moment. She hadn’t eaten during the day and now, she could feel her inner organs twisting with hunger. With a soft groan, Clarke stood up, walking past her mother and Raven’s beds, approaching the small counter where a grounder had left a few fruits and a bowl of meat. It was cold now, but the smell and taste were almost irresistible and Clarke leaned on the wall beside the window, eating the food quietly, watching the rain create a line on the ground between the protected from the roof dirt and the rest of it a few feet away.

It was only when she had finished the bowl that she saw the huge bonfire burning in the middle of the clearing, not at all bothered by the heavy rain. Clarke frowned and put on her boots, before walking in the cold air, closing the door gently behind her. It was hard to make out the person who sat in front of the bonfire but she could see they were not wet at all, unaffected by the weather.

Clark glanced up at the sky and approached the grounder carefully and as quietly as she could manage, using the expanded roofs of the small houses and hats to protect herself from the falling water. It wasn’t an easy thing to do and soon, her blonde hair was clinching on her forehead and her boots and pants were full of mud. Careful not to fall on a puddle of water and mud on the ground, Clarke failed to see the Avatar’s eyes watching her quietly.

Clarke froze when the drops of rain beside her stopped falling, leaving an almost tiny space of the ground a step away from the roof, not getting pounded by the rain. The blonde slowly looked up at the Avatar’s extended hand, a soft, almost invisible move of her fingers creating a passage, the drops of rain splitting their way in two.

The Commander turned her head away to look at the fire. “Come”, she said in with a quiet voice and Clarke could see a circle of dry ground around the woman and fire. It was a magical almost sight and Clarke gulped as she approached the Avatar slowly, a spark of awe lightening up inside her with the way the water fell around her without touching her, a flash of fear that the Commander would let go of her control over the rain and have it soak her to death. She only relaxed when she stood right beside the other woman, the passage disappearing as the water was let fall freely behind her. She had nowhere to go now.

Clarke took a seat next to Lexa, leaving an awkward amount of space between them as she looked up at the drops of water falling right and left, away from them and the fire. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time. A shiver passed down her back at the knowledge that the woman beside her had so much power over every aspect of Earth; elements and people alike, both following her orders without a thought.

“Couldn’t sleep, Clarke of the Sky People? Do you want to share what is troubling you?” The Commander looked like she was made of steel, no expression covering her face. Her dark eyes stared at the fire and Clarke could see her fingers moving now and then, sharp movements and sure twists of her muscles. The fire moved in response, the air slowing down around them when it should naturally be speeding up.

“Your guard let you out of his sight?” Clarke leaned forwards lightly, forearms on her knees, the warmth of the fire comforting.

The Commander’s lips tugged up slightly. “Gustus needs his own breaks at times. It is unlike someone will try to kill me with this weather and during such times”.

“What times?”

“Even my biggest enemy is curious about me going to war with the Mountain”.

“Anya says that I should train with you”, Clarke mumbled instead, knowing that it’d be so easy to reach for the knife in her ankle and just push it in the woman’s heart. “I don’t want to train with you”.

The Avatar just nodded. “But you should”. The fire cracked lightly and Clarke saw the woman glancing at her with the corner of her eye. “Your power over the fire is at the same time remarkable and dangerous. You should know how to control it before it is too late”.

The blonde frowned at the words. “Too late for what? You would be able to prevent anything before it hurt people. You have the power to control me”.

“I don’t have the power to control you, Clarke”. Lexa leaned back slightly, dark eyes locked with the flames. “Not when I’m not around you at all times, not when you or your people haven’t sworn your loyalty to me. I’m not the master of your people nor your Avatar. But I am just… the only one that can help you learn how to control your power. You could burn the forest to the ground without realizing it”.

Clarke turned to look at the fire as well; the flames were strong, powerful, beautiful. The blonde let herself feel the warmth of it, her muscles lightly relaxing. She leaned closer, determination written on her face. She extended a hand towards it, watching the flame react to the movement of her finger like a scared animal. Clarke could feel Lexa’s gaze watching her. She moved her hand forwards like she was shooing away a fly or a bee, the fire shifted back only slightly, the woods cracking.

“Move with a bit more sharp movements”. Lexa’s voice was a quiet whisper as warm and as strong as the fire itself. “Be fast and sure. Like a dance. Fire needs to feel your intelligence and control over the way you move. The flames are powerful but get put out easily. Move fast, attacking is your power, not defense. And breathe, you need a lot of air to create a flame yourself”.

Clarke sighed and focused on the fire again, feeling a headache forming. She did not extend her hand this time, but instead moved it swiftly to the side like she would do if she had to slap someone. This time, a part of the fire flew away and horizontally from the rest of the flames, hitting the heavy drops of rain, disappearing in thick smoke. Clarke managed not to squeak.

“ _Good, Klark_ ”, Lexa whispered, looking pleased. Clarke didn’t understand the words but still smiled. “You can learn quickly”.

“What can you do?” Clarke asked, causing a soft chuckle to escape Lexa. It was air for the most part but it was the closest thing to a human’s happy emotion she had heard from the Commander so far. The brunette raised a hand, a long burning log rising off the pile of woods at the bottom of the fire, sparks flying around at the movement of the pile. The rain parted again as the burning log weightlessly traveled through the air, approaching a dark hut to the other side of the clearing. The fire jumped off the flying log and lighted up a torch, giving some light to the house’s doorway.

“It takes a lot of practice and patience with yourself, _Klark_ ”, the Commander quietly said, like she was afraid of waking up the sleeping people of her village. “I’d suggest that you train with me, your power’s not something to be left without having proper control over it. I will not have the amount of time that I’d like for a teaching process but there’re other Firebenders in the village that can teach you some techniques as well. I must attend to my duties during the day; going to war with the _Maunon_ is one of the tougher things I’ve come across so far. But I should be able to have some time for you during the day. But the choice is still yours; of course I cannot force you to do anything”.

Clarke sighed as she watched the Commander talk. Lexa’s tone was flat, not carrying any emotion in it. Still, Clarke couldn’t help but marvel at the natural beauty of the woman, painted in shadows and the golden light of the fire that now seemed to be burning softly, lazily. She wondered how a smile would look like on Lexa’s lips.

“I would like to train with you”, the sky girl found herself saying without realizing it. Lexa’s dark eyes turned to look at her steadily. “Talk with you about the Mountain as well. We will play our part in this war with everything we have”.

“Tomorrow then”, Lexa reached to her side and picked up a roll of paper that was hidden away from Clarke’s sight. “I’ll walk you to your hut, _Klark_ ”. Lexa let the rain fall on the burning woods, putting out the fire in a split second.

“You don’t have to do that”.

A twist of muscle tugged up the corner of Lexa’s mouth. “I insist”.

The rain parted over their head all the way to the door, only leaving the danger of slipping on the muddy ground because of the dark. But just as the thought formed in Clarke’s head, a small but strong flame appeared in Lexa’s hand, lighting up the place around them. The Commander didn’t give away any sight of pain or discomfort, even though Clarke felt heat coming off the tiny fire.

It was a short way to Clarke’s hut and as soon as she was under the safety of the roof and the steady surface of dry ground, Clarke turned to thank the woman that stood a foot away. The Avatar’s face was now lighted up by the fire in her hand and the torch on the wall besides the blonde’s head and Clarke’s fingers twisted for the need of a pencil in her hold and a piece of paper in front of her. The natural beauty of this woman was unreal.

“Have a good night, _Klark kom Skaikru_ ”, Lexa lowered her head just slightly in a tiny, invisible bow and Clarke nodded, her throat tight with unrecognized emotions.

“You too, Commander”, Clarke managed to say, not able to tear her blue eyes off the brunette’s retreating form. A couple of steps away, just when the rain started falling behind her body, separating them for good, the fire in Lexa’s hand disappeared in a heavy darkness that swallowed the Avatar away from Clarke’s eyes.

The bed creaked loudly when Clarke finally returned to it, her mother’s eyes blinking open at the sound. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah”, Clarke whispered back, aware of Raven still sleeping a few steps away. “I was outside. Go back to sleep”.

“But it is pounding”.

“Yes”, Clarke turned her head to look out of the window, the remainder of gentle dark eyes watching her and the heat of a burning fire lingering in her mind like a sweet dream. The smell of wet ground and smoke that stayed on her clothes and skin were the only things that kept everything real, ensuring her that she hadn’t been dreaming. “Go back to sleep”.

Dark memories and Finn’s ghost did not appear in her dreams that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well, look at that. A calm Clexa moment? Clarke talking to Lexa? Willingly? Whaaat?
> 
> Did you guys like it? Please, leave a comment to tell me your own ideas or things you'd like to see. Any headcanons are very welcome. Excuse any mistakes, English is not my first language. Until next time, stay gorgeous, people! Thank you so much for reading this mess!


	7. Chapter 7

Zack knocked the wooden stick he was holding against Clarke’s left knee. “Bend it”, he all but growled. Clarke complied without a word. The wooden stick knocked her arm. “Keep your muscles light”. The stick poked her shoulder, pushing it back. “A bit straighter, please”.

Clarke bit back a comment about the last one and did as told.

They were out in a training ground, a bit farther away from the village’s walls, in the middle of a big clearing, trees and rocks circling them. A small passage was leading to the village and back, the surface hard and flat by the amount of times it was stepped on, making it clear the grounders often used this place. There were people all around them, training with swords and in hand to hand compact, lifting rocks, branches and huge logs, grounders two and three times Clarke’s size; _Trikru_ , Earthbenders.

Octavia was somewhere between them, listening eagerly, with wide, excited eyes. It was a huge difference to her brother’s expression, moody and suspicious. Clarke felt a smirk forming on her mouth at the sight of his pouted face. It was wiped away from the fucking stick knocking on the side of her head. She turned to glare at Zack, seeing him raise an eyebrow.

They didn’t like each other. Clarke thought that the redhead man was arrogant and a tiny bit of a dickhead. Words coming out as a growl, his tone bored and annoyed. An almost too bad teaching method, full of poking and hitting and snapping. Clarke just wanted to punch him. In the other hand, Zack thought that the blonde wasn’t a good student; always looking around and not concentrating, her weak and tired body full of emotional pain and grief, but a strong mind that she didn’t use, a very bad habit of trying to find her people in the crowd of _Trikru_ warriors.

They had covered the most important positions that would be useful to have before starting an attack but the moves were difficult and needed balance that Clarke didn’t have. They were sharp moves with her rough landings needing to be softer and fast, swift twists of her body that had her muscles staining. And on top of everything, they hadn’t even come close to using fire. Clarke wished she was in the meeting with the generals of the Earth Nation but Lexa said that they should wait for the arrival of the _Azgeda_ ’s chiefs and generals before an official war meeting for the mountain would take place with all of them and that her training with Zack was important. Neither of them liked that but sucked it up and kept glaring at one another.

They were both relieved when Lexa appeared later that day as the sun had started to come down to the sky, most of the heat been chased away by the afternoon cool air. The woman’s hair were for the first time freed from braids, the skin of her face freed from warpaint. Her long coat was hanging around her body loosely and she looked as relaxed as a leader could be around their warriors. Many greetings echoed from the _Trikru_ fighters that were on the pits and the Commander returned them with a raise of her hand. Countless eyes followed her as she approached Clarke and Zack.

“Good evening, Clarke”, she said, her voice clicking perfectly on the k of her name. It was a nice sound, the blonde figured. “Zack”, the Commander nodded her head, the man bowing before her lightly. “How is your first training going?”

Clarke expected the man to start cursing her. “We are making process”, he said. “It’ll take a lot of work though. These people are no warriors”.

Clarke rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. Lexa looked at her for a few seconds, a small twist of her facial muscles pulling the corner of her lips up. She looked younger from all the other times, almost human, even though the aura of pure power and confidence was still around her. Gustus behind her didn’t help much.

“Did you use fire?” Lexa asked, her attention going to the strap of her shoulder sash.

Zack stood a bit taller. “I never do in the first lessons”.

Lexa only hummed, not at all clear if she agreed or disagreed with his method. “Very well. Thank you, Zack. You will not be needed anymore today”. He bowed his head at her and started to walk away, only to be stopped by Lexa again. “Please find Anya for me and tell her to come here. I would like to speak to her”.

The man nodded and walked away, sending a side look at Clarke. The simple way he and the rest of the people obeyed to the Commander’s order was astonishing. Just a wave of Lexa’s hand and they all rushed to comply. Clarke watched as her tall guard took a few steps back, settling to watch the area, always alert but out of Lexa’s way.

“So Clarke”, Lexa took off her coat, carefully folding it and lowering it to a log close to her. Clarke gulped and rolled her eyes away from the woman’s backside, not able to keep the air in as it filled her lungs suddenly and puffed out her chest. The blonde was glad that nobody had seen her reaction to the Avatar’s body. But damn, she was fine as hell. “How was training with Zack?”

“Many positions before a fight”, she said. “Need a lot of balance. _A lot_ of breathing”.

“Yes”, Lexa nodded. She lowered her long sword on the ground, taking off a belt full of hidden knives. She kept her thigh hostel on but took out the dagger that it held. It was surprising how many weapons she carried while she still had every control over the elements around her. Clarke figured she could never be too safe at a time of war.

“Firebenders need the balance, the sharpness of their moves. You remember what I told you about the fire last night. You can’t use it to defend yourself. Not so soon at least. It can cause great damage to your enemy but it can be very easily put down by the rest of the elements. So you need to be quick and strong and able to fight with your brain first. Think fast, calculate your enemy’s moves and strengths and you need to find their weaknesses”.

Clarke saw it too late and she raised a hand to protect her face before the rock could collide with her body. Her arm stung with sharp pain as the rock connected with her skin with force, drawing blood. Clarke looked up at Lexa with wide eyes, surprised to see a pleased expression on her face.

“You think fast, that is good”, the Avatar’s fingers moved and two more stones were lifted off the ground. Clarke pulled slightly back, eyes on both rocks as they hovered in the air looking dangerous. “Try to breathe as much and steady as possible as you move. You are too young to know how to use the fire as a defending weapon so for now, you need to stick to your body to avoid a lot of your enemy’s attacks”.

Clarke was ready for the rocks that flew through the air with speed, ducking away of the left one’s way, the right one landing on her upper arm instead of her forehead. A sharp pain passed over her arm and Clarke was sure that tomorrow she’d be covered with bruises and cuts. Her thoughts were cut off by ice cold water splashing over her head, getting into her eyes and nose and choking her lightly in surprise. Clarke jolted back, wide blue eyes looking at the big blob of water the hovered over Lexa’s hand.

From somewhere behind her, someone chuckled at her wet clothes and hair. The Commander smirked playfully. “Always keep your eyes on your enemy’s next move”.

Another blob of water collided with her face, water getting into her mouth and nose, blinding her again. She growled lightly as she saw the smirk on the Commander’s lips widen even more. She managed to duck away from another attack of water, only to feel the liquid splashing to the back of her head, knocking her a step forwards, one of her feet catching to a piece of the ground that jolted out of the surface. She tripped.

Clarke huffed, pushing blonde strands of wet hair away from her eyes. She pulled it back in a high ponytail, looking at Lexa determined to avoid her next attack as best as possible. Her eyes widened as the water was left to fall on the ground and on its place appeared a spark and then a ball of fire. Clarke gulped, feeling fear enveloping her body at the thought of getting burned.

Lexa’s eyes sparkled lightly over the flames. _Be fast and sure. Like a dance. Fire needs to feel your control and intelligence over the way you move._ As the ball of fire left the woman’s side with speed, Clarke gave a sharp side move of her hand and then it was flying away before the flames had time to even come close to touching the blonde’s body, the ball of fire speeding and colliding with the ground a few feet away, the flames bursting up with force as they fell on a piece of wood, like the log exploded.

A collective gasp came from around her and she blinked, looking at the warriors that had gathered around their pit, staring at Clarke with wide eyes; shock, envy, terror, wonder and awe on their gazes. She spotted Bellamy and Octavia among them, with surprise on their faces, excitement all over Octavia’s eyes. Anya was also standing in the first line of the small crowd, her arms folded, her eyes shifting every couple of seconds to the Commander that still stood tall.

“Very good, Clarke”, the Commander said quietly, her eyes thoughtful. “Very good”.

\-----

“Why haven’t you taken the Mountain down by bending?” Clarke asked first thing.

They had gathered around in a basement, leaders and generals of every clan having arrived the day before. It was officially the first war meeting with every single ally that would give warriors and aim for the battle. Their army was mainly consisted of Earthbenders, since the three clans ( _Trikru_ , _Ouskejon_ _Kru_ and _Trishana_ ) that lived around Mount Weather and had suffered the most of its attacks, were the clans that build up the Nation of Earth. With Indra as their leader, the three clans had gathered up an army that to Clarke’s ears seemed unstoppable.

However, every other clan had also offered some of their own warriors, Firebenders and Airbenders being the second biggest number of warriors, Waterbenders coming at last with their own few hundreds of fighters from _Podakru_ and _Azgeda_. Chiefs and generals of every clan had arrived with their warriors to take part to the meeting and to settle down in the forest around Ton DC.

The basement had become a crowed place.

“You think we haven’t tried, girl?” someone growled from the side of _Trishana_.

“The Mountain is completely sealed”, a _Trikru_ army chief told her.

“There is no way in or out”.

Clarke kept in her remark of herself actually getting out because these people were now her allies and they would have to work together. Her hand shot out to catch her guard’s in an iron lock, Byrne biting back her comment and going back to stand to the side.

Anya leaned closer to her, not minding the remarks and bickering against the Arkers. “The cell we spent the night after we got out”, she said quietly. “You remember how it seemed to be burned. The Mountain is sealed with the same type of iron. It’s held our attacks perfectly in the past. There is no way of getting in with bending”.

 _It did survive the bombs and radiation a century ago_ , Clarke thought as she nodded at Anya, who turned back at the table, crossing her arms over her chest, her brows frowning. The general looked ready to kill as the bickering continued.

Clarke’s gaze shifted over the fighting people and settled on the Commander’s face. She didn’t seem to mind the loud voices, her eyes flying over one of the maps that where settled on the table, an older man showing her something on the paper, a bit too close to her. They were talking so quietly that Clarke had no clue of what they were saying and by throwing a glance at Anya, she found a curious expression over the woman’s own face.

“This argument is a waste of time”, the chief of _Delfikru_ ’s warriors spoke up. He was muscular and tall, robes covering his body under light armor, the colors of bright orange and light yellow catching Clarke’s eye. _An Airbender_ , Anya had whispered to them. “They can’t breathe our air. Why won’t we just open the doors and be done with it? Let them burn!”

Clarke looked over at Raven, who rolled her eyes slightly. The blonde had asked her to be present, considering that her mother was preparing Bellamy for the Mountain with Octavia and Lincoln. Conversation between them was still rooky after Finn but they were slowly getting better as time passed. Clarke wished that bringing Raven to the meeting would show the girl that the blonde Firebender trusted her and wanted her opinion to all this. Even if they couldn’t look each other in the eye for long.

And she was way better at explaining the technical part of their slowly built plan. The bad thing was that Raven was getting impatient with the loud fighting. “No, because they have a containment system. Multiple airlocks, just like we have on the Ark”, she answered the man, doubting he understood everything.

Clarke added. “Our inside man can shut that down”.

“If he gets inside”, a _Trikru_ man was looking at her with anger shifting his face.

“What if we shut it down from the outside?” Anya asked suddenly, all eyes turning to her, just as her gaze flew away from the Commander’s eyes.

“You say the dam gives them power, let’s take that away”, the Commander said right after, completing Anya’s thought. Clarke looked between them, marveling at the way they worked together without words.

“That dam survived through a nuclear war”, Raven mumbled, avoiding to look at her.

A question appeared in Lexa’s gaze at the words and Clarke rushed to explain. “It is a good structure, a very strong one. I highly…”

The _Trikru_ warrior slammed his fists on the table, water jolting up and out of cups, a few cracks being added to the already cracked walls. This room had clearly faced a lot of arguments. “All she offers is no”

The Commander’s burning gaze turned to him, pinning him on his spot. “Quint”.

“My apologies, Commander”, he straightened his back. “But the biggest army we’ve ever had waits to give them a mission. The longer it waits the more of our people are dying inside that Mountain”.

“It’s the same for all of us”.

“We’ve lost thousands”, he stared at her. “How many have you lost, girl?”

Clarke bit back a comment, flashes of faces passing behind her eyes. Raven’s whole body tensed up and straightened, her own gaze hardening as she looked at the tall Earthbender. It was Anya that stepped closer that kept them from saying anything.

“She says she has a plan. I say, waiting for one man to get inside is not a very good one”, he said as his eyes turned back to his Avatar, who looked at him thoughtfully.

“We need to turn down the damned acid fog”, Raven could not help but speak up, cutting off another man that leaned forwards ready to talk.

“We don’t care about how many men you have”, Clarke nodded at Raven. “If you can’t get to your enemy, you can’t win”.

“And the biggest army you’ve ever had will be turned into potato chips”, Raven offered a sweet smile at the _Trikru_ warrior, who looked much more angry now.

“You are the enemy”, he growled out at last.

“There it is”, Raven mumbled but her dark eyes were alert and her voice was harsh, staring back at the man with the same amount of rage he spoke with.

“I’m sorry. Have we done anything to offend you?” Clarke said.

He came closer. Close enough to pass his threat with his body language. “Oh yes”, he slowly said with a dangerous voice that craved blood. “You burned my brother alive in a ring of fire”.

Raven saw the moment anger snapped in Clarke brain, taking over. The girl’s moves were slow as she approached him with a spark in her eyes, coming a couple of inches away from him, not seeing how the grounders exchanged gazes and worried looks, a few alarmed looks being thrown at the Commander, who watched with interest.

“He shouldn’t have attacked my ship”.

“That’s enough”, Anya stepped forwards but the rage in Quint’s face didn’t lessen at the approach of his superior warrior. “We have a war to plan, with many more loses to come”.

Quint didn’t take his eyes off of Clarke. “Of course you’d say that”, he said with the same dangerous voice. “You are the only one who survived a fight that killed three hundred of your warriors. Of course you want to move past”.

“Do you wish to see the three hundred scars on my back, Quint?” Anya answered, her own tone low, her body leaning forwards like an animal ready to attack its prey.

“You shouldn’t be here, Anya”, Quint turned to look at the general.

“Try to throw me out”, Anya growled right back at him. Clarke’s gaze just now fell on the small round rocks that were floating around the room, ready to strike.

“ _Enough_ ”.

Every voice shut down at the command, the water jolting out of cups on the table, a few flames exploding up in strong fires. Every gaze turned to the Commander, who’d turned her gaze away from the new personal fight and was looking down at the map once again, unbothered.

Her voice was even when she spoke again. “ _You do not wish to talk about old wars and the general’s part to them_ ”.

Clarke watched Quint slightly curl into himself at the cutting words, Indra standing a bit taller as she looked over at Anya’s expressionless face.

“ _Both Anya and Clarke of the Sky people have seen things that none of us has seen in the years that have passed. This’s our best chance of winning our biggest enemy. And maybe you would want to remember how your leaders and generals have saved your families’ lives countless times in the past before voicing your grief in a wrong way. In a war meeting, on top of everything else. I would like you to keep your feelings out of these discussions”_. Lexa looked up at Clarke, who had understood a few words about their own part in the war but didn’t understand anything else. Anya did not seem to want to translate.

A collective “Yes, _Heda_ ” rang around the room, the anger having evaporated from the room in seconds. Raven crossed her arms, looking around with curious eyes.

“But Quint is right”, the Commander added, turning her eyes on Clarke. The warrior that was addressed looked up, surprised. “Waiting for Bellamy is not a plan. It’s a prayer, one that is likely not going to be answered”.

Clarke shifted on her spot, her head suddenly clouded. “Excuse me. I need some air”.

The weather had grown colder, mist and fog coming down from the mountains but the chilly breeze was a blessing on her heated skin. Clarke recalled Anya saying that they should be waiting a storm to approach in the next couple of days. The blonde’s throat gripped around a knot at the thought of the winder that was on its way. After this, they would have to prepare. If they got out alive.

Truth was that the blonde didn’t have a formed plan. She had given everything into thinking of the safest way to get Bellamy inside the Mountain. She had planned it as best as she could, in high details so she could keep him live in there. The doors, the gourds, the control room, the acid fog, the power system. Everything they would do from the inside. But of course the grounders wanted a plan for the outside.

“Not so brave now, aren’t you, Skygirl?”

The voice came from somewhere below and away and had her whole body freezing just slightly. Quint was standing at the bottom of the small hill looking up at her from under layers of furs and clothes. He had a bow in his hand but it was mindlessly gripped in his hold, like he had just grabbed it on his way. He turned towards her, a pair of dangerous looking eyes pinning her on her spot and then a stone was thrown her way with force that could very easily kill.

Clarke ducked away from the tree it landed on, pieces of wood flying around and she ran, as fast as her legs could carry her, passing by trees and over fallen logs, her steps making too much sound on her way. Another big rock collided with a tree next to her head, the ground under her feet shaking and cracking here and there, heavy branches falling a few feet away from her.

She didn’t know how far she run but as she thought she had lost him, she slowed just a bit down, falling to a calm jogging, her muscles staining and her breathing heavy. It was necessary to keep training with the grounders or they wouldn’t survive for long.

Her thoughts were cut off by distant footsteps and just as Clarke started to raise her gun, Byrne appeared on top of a hill looking around in alert. The relief Clarke felt was short cut as the woman turned around, an arm missing completely, blood spilling out of the wound like water coming out of a pine. It was too late to save the woman and as the thought was formed in her head the woman mumbled out a warning and fell, bright eyes open and empty, filled with death.

A shudder passed down her body as she backed away, her feet quickly carrying her across the woods and the clearing, fear filling her body at what she just watched. She didn’t even notice Quint as he burst out of the trees and tackled her to the ground as hard as he could. Her head slammed against the ground harshly, black dots clouded her vision for a second.

She tried to dodge his fists but one of them caught her on the forehead, pushing her back. _Why hadn’t they trained with fire yesterday, damn it_? _If she could just create a small ball of flame_ … Quint shouted something from above her but she was too busy trying to breathe under his weight which fell on her merciless. She saw the knife too late and she sucked in a breath as fear enveloped her and then the knife was falling on the ground uselessly and the _Trikru_ warrior was crying out in pain, falling back.

Clarke had never been so happy to see Anya in her life.

“ _Attack her and you attack me_ ”, the Commander stepped forwards from next to the older warrior, coming closer and taking out the blade that was buried deep in Quint’s forearm. Anya stepped besides Lexa with her sword out, looking over at the blonde’s body to find any wounds. There weren’t any.

“Thank you”, Clarke breathed out.

 Lexa looked at her like she’d look at a naughty child that stole sweets from a store. “Where is your guard?” she asked, voice hard. At the words, Clarke looked around for Lexa’s own guard but the big man was nowhere to be seen.

“He killed her”.

Quint’s wild eyes looked at Lexa. “ _Avatar, she lies. My fight is only with her_ ”.

“ _Your fight is over_ ”, Lexa didn’t miss a bit and Anya felt a spank of sympathy for the warrior of her clan. But she moved past the feeling in seconds.

“The kill is yours, Clarke”, Anya said quietly, lowering her sword as Lexa put away her dagger. The skygirl looked surprised at the words. “He attacked you. This is our way”.

She hesitated. Anya shared a look with her former second, seeing Lexa’s dark eyes narrowing slightly in thought, watching Clarke carefully. _She was testing her_ , Anya realized, a million question flying through her mind because the Commander would not test someone without a reason. Anya doubted it was to do with the strength of Clarke’s bending even though it was the only thing the warrior could think of. She pinned her former second with a look, trying to understand her, just like when she was just a little child that needed to properly learn how to earthbend like a warrior.

A loud roar interrupted her thoughts, her body jolting up as fear crushed through her whole being. Anya sheathed her sword quickly, backing away and taking a tight hold of Lexa’s armor, her fear turning into terror and a strong need to protect the Avatar with any cost.

“What was that?” Clarke whispered, eyes wide with horror.

“ _Pauna_ ”, Lexa mumbled alerted. Fear filled her eyes as she turned to look at her old mentor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that's a long one, right?! Many stuff came up though, I hope it answered some of your questions about the Mountain and bending! If not, please tell me so.
> 
> Also, that training was not that intresting, right? Wait for it, people, it's gonna get heated up soon ;)
> 
> But after dealing with Pauna.
> 
> And, oh boy, I was going through your comments and I was once again blown away by your kind words, guys! Thank you so, so much for reading this mess of a story, the feedback is so amazying, you have to idea. Please, tell me your thoughts and any headcanons or ideas you'd like me to add, don't be shy!
> 
> Also, I just finished writing chapter twelve and it turned out good, shame I can't post it right away ;)
> 
> Stay safe, you beautiful human beings. Next one coming up soon!


	8. Chapter 8

“Lexa”, Anya pulled at the brunette’s coat. “ _Lexa, you need to run_ ”.

“What is that?!” Clarke was scared now, seeing the terror in Anya’s gaze as the woman put herself between the Commander and the direction of the sound.

Lexa turned, her sword coming out and striking Quint’s leg, making a deep cut that spat out blood. The man cried out, his shout being answered by a loud roar. Clarke did not know what the hell this animal was but both grounders shifted back in fear.

“Run!” Lexa’s order hit Clarke with a strong wave of air.

Clarke did as told without a question.

They run farther away from Ton DC. They passed by trees and rocks and plants, the path not at all familiar to Clarke’s eyes, but the two grounders kept running towards the same direction, not wasting time to look back. The heavy sound of steps and the roars of the hungry animal were following them steadily, closing in.

“We need to hide”, Lexa shouted as she run to the front.

Anya slowed down all of the sudden, grabbing Clarke to make her run behind Lexa and she turned, her fist colliding with the ground, a long and deep crack opening on the ground and traveling several steps away quickly, sharp and huge pieces of rocks cracking and raising up, blocking the way by creating a long wall of stone.

A flash of an iron caught Clarke’s eye. “Here, here, here. I found something”.

Anya and Lexa followed her as she pulled the circled door to the side and crawled in the long hole in the ground, light appearing right away to the other side of the small tunnel. Clarke stumbled to get out, right away realizing that this wouldn’t be a good hiding place for them. Bile gathered at the back of her throat.

All her senses were overwhelmed with death; the smell of blood was making Clarke dizzy, the sound of million flies clouded every other sounds, the sight of tore animals making her sick with horror. “What is this place?”

“Feeding ground”, Anya growled, one of her legs pulling back and bending, her hand raising in front of her. A stone two times Clarke’s size floated in the air and flew with speed towards the huge animal that appeared behind the trees.

Clarke raised her gun as a ball of fire flew up and collided with the gorilla, making the animal stumble back a couple of steps and roar. Clarke turned to stare at the Avatar with wide eyes, just in time to see her taking a side step, planting her left foot on the ground with strength and force, making a piece of the huge rock break from the rest and fly above Anya’s head and towards the gorilla. The mutated animal roared again and raised an arm, blocking the stone and breaking it in million little pieces, dust and sharp pieces flying everywhere.

Clarke pressed the trigger over and over, the huge gorilla growling unable to dodge the small bullets, one of them being stuck somewhere to its head, making the animal stumble back in pain and fall off. Anya took the chance to climb higher up the stones, a hand grabbing Lexa’s armor and pushing her farther back, yelling something in her native language. Lexa pulled back slightly, a fire appearing in her eyes. The loud roar sounded again, the gorilla’s arm smashing against the ground as it pulled itself higher up, looking at them with angry eyes.

“Back, back”, Anya pushed Lexa again, taking out one of her long swords. Her foot slammed against the ground, a wall of stone raising up to block the gorilla’s way. It growled with fury.

They were running again, through an old building, slipping over fallen leaves. Clarke cursed as she saw the floor stopping to a short wall. It was high, but Clarke doubted they would get badly hurt if they jumped. Not that their other option was good.

So Clarke jumped, landing heavily on her legs, her hands coming ahead to keep her balance. She started to run again, watching over her shoulder as Lexa jumped after her, something weird happening in the air under her feet, the brunette touching the ground steadily, her body straight and unbothered by the gentle landing. Clarke did not have time to marvel at the sight she just witnessed because Anya’s landing came much harsher, the woman letting out a groan as she landed heavily.

“Go, go, go”, Lexa helped her up, pushing her to the front.

The gorilla landed behind them as they turned a corner and ducked under a low opening on an iron wall. As they passed below, the roar came dangerously closer, one of the gorilla’s hands grabbing at Lexa’s legs, pulling her back harshly. Anya’s eyes shot wide at the sight, one of her own hands shooting out and grabbing at the brunette’s arm, holding her as the gorilla pulled them both back.

“Leave me, Anya!”

“Like hell she is”, Clarke growled as she ducked close to the ground, emptying her gun to the gorilla’s head, making the huge animal let go of Lexa’s leg, Anya pulling her back up through the opening.

“Through here. Come on”, Clarke pulled the Commander on her feet, leading her to a closed room, bars closing up every entrance and window. Anya slowly dropped an injured Lexa, quickly checking for any fatal wound. Clarke took hold of Anya’s sword, running back to the doors and pulling it through two metallic holds, tying the doors together and closed.

“Where are you hurt?” Anya kept checking Lexa, whose face was covered with pain.

“My arm”, the Commander said, steadying herself, taking a few deep breaths. Clarke watched with raised eyebrows as Lexa’s whole body slowly relaxed back on the rock she was leaning on, the agony disappearing from her face in just a few seconds, her eyes having hardened when they opened. “We need to tie it up”, she said steadily, a tone of calmness on her voice, her face blank.

“Let me do it”, Clarke took in a deep breath, coming closer. She needed to keep her mind off the fact that they were trapped inside a room for now being. “Come on, my mom is a doctor. I know what I’m doing”, she rolled her eyes at Anya’s sharp gaze.

“We’re safe for now”, Anya said, glancing at her sword keeping the doors closed.

“The sun’s coming down”, Lexa looked up at her old mentor. “We should wait for the night to pass. It is gonna be looking for us around the area for some time”.

Clarke bit her tongue at the thought of keeping still while their friends needed a plan to escape a mountain. She exhaled slowly and approached Lexa, taking a gentle hold of her arm. The woman didn’t show any signs of pain as Clarke pulled it up slightly, a soft groan making its way out of the Commander’s throat to show her discomfort. Its sound travelled throw the brunette’s body and sent a spark inside Clarke who gulped as she realized how close to the Commander she was standing.

Silence settled between the three of them; Anya checking the whole room for any weak spots that could mean their death, Clarke carefully tying up Lexa’s arm and the Commander being too busy trying to keep her face emotionless. When the sun came down slowly, Anya slipped on the ground with a grunt, her eyes on Lexa’s calm face, a thoughtful look in her gaze.

“You’re all done”, Clarke pulled back and started passing, feeling the grounders’ eyes on her. Lexa slowly sat on the ground as well, across from Anya. The air around them blew warmer all of the sudden, chasing away the night chill.

“You should have been faster”, Anya’s quiet voice filled the room, Clarke turning to find her looking at the Commander. “This was a too close call, Lexa. Gustus is gonna be pissed”.

The Commander seemed prepared for this. A small smile tugged the side of her lips. “You haven’t been in Polis in years. Aden is old enough to take command”.

“He is fifteen and has never been in the battlefield”.

Clarke frowned while Anya rolled her eyes. She seemed angrier than other times, if that was even possible and Clarke could understand her, because she also felt a hot rage rising up inside her. “A fifteen-years-old child could take command of this?”

“He will have the generals’ help if needed”, Lexa sighed, leaning back. “He is ready”.

“God forbid one of your generals takes command of this war”.

“I agree with the _Skaigada_ ”, Anya raised an eyebrow at Lexa. “If you die now, we will never win this war. Aden was never in charge of a battle. He is not hard enough”.

Lexa frowned. “Do you think I should bring him here?”

Anya seemed to be taken by surprise. “It would be useful”, she said slowly. “But it’s dangerous. If something happened to him–“

“He will be with me at all times”, Lexa waved a hand dismissively.

Clarke blinked. “You’re talking about taking a _child_ to war. Are you insane?”

Anya shook her head. “She’s right. It’s far too dangerous. Two Avatars in battle. We can’t afford to lose both of you. The last one is too young to become Commander. I don’t care what the Spirits told you, the boy cannot command a war yet”.

Lexa straightened her back slightly. “Not the Mountain then. He will come to the war meetings. Learn as much as he can”.

Anya rolled her eyes. “Let the kid live, Lexa. Those meetings will bore him to death”.

Lexa raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer. She turned to look up at Clarke and slowly patted the ground next to her. “Clarke, come here. You need to learn how to create fire. It’d have been useful to you today with your fight with Quint”.

Anya scoffed. “You call that a fight”, she mumbled, earning a glare from Clarke, who approached and took a seat next to Lexa. The general sighed, slowly laying back on the ground. “ _Fire bending training is the most boring thing_ ”. A small rock flew off the ground and collided with Lexa’s hand as she put it on her knee.

“ _Grow up, Anya_ ”, Lexa mumbled in her native language as she turned to look at the blonde that was taking in Anya’s teasing smirk. “Take in a few deep breaths and we can begin”.

Apparently a few deep breaths meant for about ten minutes of just breathing and as Clarke started to grow impatient, Lexa nodded and held out her hand, a light coming right under the skin of her palm, a spark appearing out of nowhere and then a small flame grew out, a few inches above the Avatar’s skin.

“Focus on your hand”, she whispered quietly, looking at Clarke as she started at her own extended palm. “Let all your senses gather there, can you feel it?”

“Feel what?” Clarke mumbled but then a tickling sensation passed down her whole arm, warmth gathering in the middle of her hand.

“A deep breath now, Clarke. Breathe out and push your palm up slightly”.

A spark came out of the center of Clarke’s palm, blue eyes widening at the sight of it flying a bit up and then disappearing. She smiled widely, a soft laugh crawling out of her lips. She suddenly felt light, a flash of excitement coming over her. Oh, it was too good to be true, this feeling that was so close to happiness and freedom. Sending an excited look to the two grounders, she saw Anya watching her with a small smirk and Lexa with a warm gaze.

“Do it again”, Lexa leaned back, closing her hand around her own ball of fire putting it out. This time the spark appeared faster, a few others following them.

“Put some more speed to your exhales”.

The sparks seemed to multiply as Clarke did as told, a few of them gathering around the air above the center of her palm. A very thin line of thick smoke came out of her hand a second before a light glow appeared under her skin.

“Breathe”.

The glow grew stronger. Clarke pushed her palm slightly up again, sparks flying up with more force, more heat travelling through her arm.

“Breathe again, Clarke”.

The first flame that appeared was weak and disappeared right away but the second on held on stubbornly, sparks wrapping around it like they were feeding it. One more breath and then another flame was wrapping around the first and then a third one, a few more sparks jumping around and then, then, a small ball was formed, thick grey smoke raising up as the fire struggled to not go out.

“Yes”, Anya laughed. “You’re waking up, _Skaigada_ ”.

Clarke didn’t answer, her blue eyes focused on the small fire. A smiled spread across her lips. The small flames kept on wrapping around one another, weakly but steadily. It was a beautiful sight and knowing that she had created… well, that was an amazing feeling.

“Now”, Lexa’s voice was calm and quiet. “You’ll have one more weapon to fight your weaknesses”.

Clarke slowly closed her hand around the fire, putting out the flames in her fist. She shot a look at the woman next to her. “I thought love was weakness”.

Lexa raised an eyebrow. “Mockery is not a product of a strong mind, Clarke”.

Clarke just rolled her eyes. Her answer was cut off by a loud roar and a loud bang on the door making the three women jump up.

“It found us”, Anya mumbled. “I hope it will be quick”.

“We’re not dying here”, Clarke snapped, looking at the Earthbender with sharp eyes. “Can’t you build up a stone wall or something?”

“There is iron underneath us”, Anya’s eyes were looking around. Her eyes settled on the door and the way her weapon kept on bending. She growled. “ _It’s destroying my sword, damn it!_ ”

“Don’t be afraid, Clarke. Death is not the end”, Lexa said calmly.

“We are not _dying_!” Clarke said again, pissed with her companions’ beliefs of death.

“ _My sword_!” Anya cried out with frustration.

 “Then get ready to fight. It’s coming in”.

A thought flashed by Clarke’s mind, her eyes widening. “Maybe we should let it in”.

They followed her to the wall near the pounded door. It took a few more kicks and then the sword was breaking, the doors flying open and the gorilla bursting through the doors and falling into the ground because of the force it used to push inside. It was their small window.

“Go, go, go, go, go”, Clarke pushed Lexa through the door, Anya following them and then they were kicking the door closed, Clarke pulling down the metallic bar, closing the cage tightly. The gorilla fell on it with force but after that, logs, trees and stones fell in front of it, sealing it tightly. Anya breathed out, smiling playfully at Clarke.

“Let’s go home before Gustus has a heart attack”, Anya straightened her back. “This cage won’t hold for long”.

Clarke’s eyes flashed. “The cage won’t hold…” she mumbled looking back at the pile of stone and wood that blocked the door. “Oh my God, that’s it!” She reached out and grabbed Lexa’s arm softly, getting her attention and steading her own thoughts. “I think I know how we will take Mount Weather”.

Anya and Lexa paused. The Commander was caught off guard, narrowing her eyes a bit as she looked at the young Firebender. “What are you talking about?”

“We are trying to get inside”, Clarke said meeting Lexa’s eyes in the soft moonlight. “But they have already let us in. Your army is already there, locked in cages. We just need someone from the inside to let them out”.

“The sky boy”, Anya whispered, taking an eager nod from Clarke.

“You have faith in him”, Lexa said quietly, seeing the blonde’s eyes lightening up.

“I do. He _will_ get inside, I know it”. Clarke realized she was still holding the Avatar’s arm gently in her hand and quickly let go. “This is gonna work”, Clarke smiled slightly at the two women, catching a spark of excitement in Anya’s gaze.

“Let’s go tell the plan to those sons of a bitch you have for generals”, Anya smirked.

“You are a general”, Clarke frowned.

Anya smirked. “Exactly”.

Lexa rolled her eyes but started walking next to Anya, who threw an arm around her shoulders and chuckled in relief of still being able to see another day. Clarke watched them for a moment, taking in the comfort they drew from one another, the care that only family would share. She smiled slightly, melancholy threatening to choke her at the thought of not having that at a time like this.

Anya looked over her shoulder, seeing Clarke walking a few steps behind them and she lowered her voice slightly. She knew that the blonde wouldn’t understand their native language but she still whispered. “ _So do you want to tell me why you and the Skygirl talk about love in your free time?_ ”

Lexa rolled her eyes at her mentor again. “ _Shut up, Anya_ ”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small one, I know, I know but it's exam week, you guys, I don't have time. So excuse that one. BUT here you go, the beginnings of Clexa friendship and trust ;)
> 
> What did you think? Comment and tell me your thoughts and for the love of god, go to the comments of chapter seven to read the amazing ideas of that beautiful human being. Thank you so much for reading, people, and thank you for your kind words! Stay safe and have a good day!


	9. Chapter 9

Waking up in her old room in the Ark was different from waking up in the smaller hut back in Ton DC. The air was heavier here and the metal cricked annoyingly every few seconds, a big contrast to the sound of the breeze passing over cloths and through a couple of cracks on the wooden walls. The spaces in the Ark were completely sealed. It was a miracle she had even been able to take that nap in this closed space.

Her tired eyes burned slightly as they blinked open, the dark ceiling of her old room looking back at her. It was so quiet in this metallic box, the pieces of furniture hidden in the darkness, standing frozen and still around the room. Clarke sighed, pulling the covers farther up her chest, pressing a hand on her forehead. She hated the quiet.

The halls of the Ark were completely deserted, everyone having gotten outside since the early morning with the group of benders that had arrived. Of the entire number of Arkers, there were one hundred and seventy Earthbenders, one hundred and sixty Waterbenders, one hundred and eighty four Airbenders, one hundred and thirty five Firebenders and the rest of the Arkers were non-benders. Clarke just hoped Lexa and the grounders could take care of them until she had her mind free of the war.

Clarke listened at the echo of her own steps as she walked through the halls, Ryder, the guard Lexa had ordered to look after her, following her like a shadow. He was a lot nicer than most of the _Trikru_ warriors she had talked to and honestly, he was the funniest and could bring a wide true smile out of her while she’d been worrying. He had promised not to tell Anya when Clarke told him she liked him most.

He knew by now to stand guard outside the door of Raven’s workplace, letting Clarke walk inside on her own. The young mechanic looked up from what she was working on, glancing at Clarke’s worried face for a second. They had started to be able to stay in the same room for many hours, realizing that they could still work in harmony like before everything went to shit; Clarke threw plans and ideas around and Raven was able to make them a reality.

It was tough. The whole situation of not being able to talk to Bellamy constantly. The thing that was used on the Reapers was in process. Raven’s plan to disable the acid fog was still being build up. The realization that Clarke’s friends were already being tortured echoed in Clarke’s head. Bellamy’s voice had yet to ring through the radio since they led him through the airlocks.

The only good thing was that training with fire helped her forget her worries. There was just something about the small balls of flame that hovered over her palm, their heat and their constant movement that made her mind go blank, the deep breaths that were needed for the flames to keep going, relaxing her stressed body. Closing her eyes and feeling the heat of the flames jumping out of her fist, moving in circles and turning the simple balls of fire into long waves that followed the movement of her arms and shoulders; the control of it had her mind calming, emptying.

Clarke kept passing around in the room, waiting for Bellamy, glancing at Raven more often than not, hoping that Kane could buy them some time in Ton DC. All they could do was wait for the radio. Raven knew it and busied herself with work. It was a tense but not uncomfortable silence settled in the room, being interrupted just by the soft faint sound of flames being lit up in either Clarke or Raven’s hands. The brunette had also easily mastered bending with a few lessons from some Firebender warriors, who had been ordered by Lexa to teach the mechanic to use the fire before anything else, since Raven asked for no rough physical training because of her leg.

Clarke had jumped more than once by a light explosion coming from Raven’s way.

Clarke’s thoughts were cut off by the cracking of the radio. “ _Guys, do you copy?! Are you there? Raven? Clarke? Do you copy?!_ ”

Clarke grabbed the radio, her dry throat closing up as anxiety filled her body at the sound of his panicked voice. “Bellamy, what is it?”

“ _They will drop a missile_ ”.

Raven’s head jolted up, her eyes filled with dread. “What?”

“ _They will drop a missile in Ton DC. Tonight. Guys, you have to warn them_ ”.

“The hundred?” Clarke gulped.

“ _They are killing them. They use drills and Emerson was here and Cage and things are ugly and they extract bone marrow or something but…_ ”

“Okay, keep working on the acid fog”, Clarke passed the radio to Raven’s hands. “If I leave now, I will be able to warn them. Can you, guys, handle the fog?”

“Yes”, Raven nodded, one arm reaching out and taking Clarke’s upper arm. “Go”.

“ _Clarke_ ”, Bellamy’s voice came again. “ _Octavia was in Ton DC_ ”.

The blonde didn’t lose a beat. “Octavia is here”, she told him, her eyes meeting the darker ones in front of her, shaking her head. Raven lowered her gaze and nodded with a deep sigh, understanding the decision. “She’s safe”.

“ _Okay. Clarke. Be careful, please_ ”.

“I will”, Clarke answered and turned off the radio. “Keep working on the plan”.

Raven nodded. “Go. We got this”. She grabbed Clarke before she turned, pulling her in a tight hug that surprised them both. “Don’t blow up”.

“Shame you won’t see the explosion”, Clarke managed to smile.

“Your jokes are fucking awful, Griffin”.

\-----

It seemed like Anya knew she was coming, the warrior standing close to the gate, her eyes sharp and falling on Clarke as soon as she rode out of the trees. Her armor was gone and replaced by a dark green training gear, a long knife on her waist, her blond hair pulled back in a single long braid.

“ _Klark kom Skaikru_ ”, she said as a greeting, Octavia appearing from behind her, her face lightening up at the sight of her friend. “You are late”.

“Clarke, you made it!” Octavia fell into step next to her as she landed on the dirt, her face betraying her worry and making Anya’s eyes narrow slightly. Octavia saw it too. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing”, she breathed out. “I need you to take me to Lexa”.

Anya stepped closer to her, blocking her way. “What is wrong?” she asked as well, harsher than Octavia. “Tell me”.

Clarke straightened her back. “I need to speak to the Commander”, she said loudly, knowing that Anya wasn’t able to deny her request. Suspicion appeared in her eyes.

“Is Bellamy okay?” Octavia was worried now as they followed Anya through the big village in a fast pace. “Did he disable the acid fog?”

“He is working on it. They don’t know he is in yet”.

“That’s good”, Octavia breathed out just as they started to approach the Avatar.

Lexa’s unimpressed face wasn’t a good sight. “Clarke of the Sky People has honored us with her presence”.

Clarke caught Anya smirking at the side, the suspicion fading from her eyes for a split second. Behind Lexa, Gustus also smirked, moving close to Anya. The blonde cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I’m late, Commander”.

Kane smiled at her. “I assume the kids in Mount Weather are okay”.

 _Only if he knew_. “For now”, Clarke managed to say before turning her eyes on Lexa’s stoic ones. “Can we talk in private?”

That got everyone’s attention; the smile on Kane’s face faded, Anya and Indra shared a look, Octavia and Gustus stood straighter, a question appearing in Lexa’s eyes.

“Yes”, Lexa said slowly, her gaze running over Clarke’s expression. “This way”.

They climbed down the stairs quickly, Gustus and Ryder standing back on the door, a few words and smiles passing between the two men. The wide basement of the war meetings was for the first time quiet and empty and Clarke took in a deep breath as Lexa turned to look at her.

“They are gonna drop a missile tonight”, Clarke said breathlessly, watching as Lexa’s whole face changed in a split second; disbelief, worry, horror and rage passing over her expression, before it settled back to a tensed and thoughtful calmness.

Clarke watched the fire in the candles snapping to side to side, the only thing which was betraying the Commander’s anxiety. Or her own. “A missile. Are you sure?”

“Yes, we need to start evacuating now”.

Lexa shook her head slowly, as calm as ever. “No”.

“What do you mean no, Lexa”, Clarke growled at the other woman.

“If we evacuate, they will know we have a spy inside their walls”.

Clarke’s voice cracked. “Not necessarily”.

Lexa’s eyes unfocused for a second, like a million things passed by her head but then she was shaking her head. “We can’t risk it”.

“What is the point of having an inside man if we don’t act on what he tells us?”

Lexa’s whole face changed, eyes narrowing. “Is the acid fog disabled? Is our sleeping army uncaged? He is not a spy. He’s a work to do and it is not done yet. Without him we can’t win this war”.

“So what are you saying?” Clarke’s voice rose. “We do nothing? Let them bomb us?”

“It will be a blow”, Lexa said quietly, her eyes closing for a second. “Our army will be safe inside the woods. And it will inspired them”.

“And what about us?” Clarke straggled to say the words.

Lexa’s whole body shifted. “We slip away. Right now”. She took hold of a cloth in a near chair, handing it to Clarke. “Put this on”.

 _Wait, what?_ “Lexa, wait, you don’t understand. I provoked Mount Weather. I told them we have a secret army to distract them from Bellamy”.

“Clarke, sometimes you have to lose a battle, to win a war”.

“No, no”, Clarke shook her head. “We can inform the leaders. Pick another spot in the woods. Each of them will come separately”.

As soon as Lexa’s eyes rolled and her face lost its calmness, Clarke knew there was nothing that would change the Commander’s mind. “And how many more people will they tell? Where do we draw a line?”

Fear gripped Clarke’s stomach. “Then cancel the meeting! Start a fire or something!”

“There is no time for this”.

“No, no, this is wrong!”

Clarke realized she had grabbed the Commander’s arm without realizing it. Lexa’s whole body tensed up, her eyes hardening, her voice lowering and her body pressing closer to Clarke, their faces inches away. Clarke gulped, pulled slightly back but Lexa moved with her like a shadow, keeping the small distance between them.

“It is also our only choise and you know–“

The boom was earthshattering. The whole room shook violently, long cracks crawling over the walls quickly, dust and rocks and wood falling over their heads in seconds and Clarke was meeting the brunette’s disbelieved, terrified gaze, realizing for the first time that Lexa’s dark eyes were as green as the color of the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... whaaaaat? This fucking happened??? Yes, it did. Am I a bad person? Nah, I don't think I am ;)
> 
> Okay, people, good thing is that exams are finally fucking over. Bad thing is that classes start next week. No rest for us college students I guess. I still can't promise you any regular updates but here you go!
> 
> Tell me how much you are freacking out, you guys! If you're not freacking out at all, that's also good I guess. Thank you so much for reading this, please, please, comment your thoughts and ideas! And please excuse any mistakes, English is not my first language.


	10. Chapter 10

Pain. A throbbing sensation running down her whole body along with the beating of her heart. It seemed like her lungs were burning in a fire, her head was hurting; it felt like someone was hitting her skull with a hammer. Breathing in and out was torture, a blade moving along her nose, throat and lungs, making her cough and choke as the need for clean air overwhelmed her senses, gripping at her chest.

Clarke groaned as she shifted, feeling the weight of a stone pressing down her lower back, keeping her on the ground without a way out. Her ribs hurt but it was nothing compared to the pain of her chest. Her right arm was numb, trapped under her own body, pressing hard against her stomach. Her legs could move only a few inches right and left, knocking against unmoving piles of rocks on either side of then. Clarke was sure that she wasn’t killed only because of a miracle happening.

The miracle had a name though and it was lying unconscious a few inches away from her, one of Lexa’s hands still wrapped around Clarke’s left upper arm. A tall rock had fallen between them, separating them, letting Clarke see only the woman’s head and shoulders. Lexa was also lying on her front, facing towards the blonde, eyes closed, a deep cut to the side of her eyebrow still spitting out thick dark blood.

\-----

Anya wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her trembling hand. The girl was gasping in the ground in front of her, gripping at the front of the general’s armor with her whole body still shaking with coughs and fear. The older Earthbender closed her eyes at the thought of this young person being cold and unmoving.

Nyko rushed to gather the child in his own arms, medical supplies already in his hold.

They’d been lucky to say the least. The bomb had been approaching the village faster than any of them had ever seen, its distant sound being their only warning. Glancing at the mess of fallen rocks, trees and houses, Anya wondered what the scene would look like if they hadn’t slowed down the attack.

It took seconds for every bender to stand on their feet and individually try to shelter the village. Truth was that the collective power was more effective and Anya kept on thanking the spirits for the warriors’ fast reflexes. They had managed to burn out the strong fire that came out of the back of the bomb, making the craft shutter on the air and fall uselessly towards the ground. Airbenders had been able to slow down its fall and Earthbenders and Waterbenders had risen up a thick tall wall of stone and ice to stop the blast’s power as much as it had been possible.

Anya groaned as she focused on one more stone that blocked her way and had it up and hovering off the ground. A younger warrior didn’t waste any time and lifted the rock underneath. An unmoved hand appeared behind the clouds of dust and Anya’s throat closed up with grief.

Despite avoiding the damage that the missile would cause if it fell directly in the very middle of the village, its blast on the ground had forced it to shake violently, the huts and buildings collapsing like a small castle made out of sand. The injured people they had found so far were mainly _Trikru_ civilians that happened to be under the roofs of their houses.

“Anya!”

She took her eyes away from the father that fell on his knees besides his son’s dead body, nodding at the warrior that had helped her lift the stones since she had gained consciousness. Indra’s second, that energetic skygirl, was running towards her way, a mask of dirt and war paint covering the skin of her face.

“They found Gustus”.

Her throat tightened. “And the Commander?”

Octavia shook her head as her eyes strayed towards the cries of the man. “Not yet”.

Anya took in a deep inhale to keep the panic caged and followed the skygirl towards the building they used for their meetings. There were Earthbenders everywhere that kept lifting huge pieces of stone, the dust that flew around catching at Anya’s throat.

She couldn’t help but run to Gustus when the air cleared just lightly. He was sat on a tall rock, his shoulders curled in and his huge figured looking so small. Anya spotted a very dark spot on the side of his armor that was getting bigger, a long branch painted with blood was dropped on the ground next to him. She ignored the healer, grabbing his face in her hands and meeting his brown eyes. “ _Is there any chance she got out?_ ”

“ _I don’t know_ ”.

“ _Gustus_ ”, she growled.

“ _I didn’t see anything, Anya_ ”, he growled right back, anger mixing with his worry.

She blinked and pulled back, taking a deep breath. “ _And Ryder?_ ”

Gustus sighed, looking defeated. “ _He is fine. I sent him to help Indra_ ”.

Anya pressed a hand on his shoulder. Her voice broke. “ _She’ll be fine_ ”.

“ _They skygirl knew about the attack_ ”, he said quietly. The healer looked up slowly as Anya scoffed. “ _I know she did. I saw she was waiting for something bad to happen_ ”.

“ _Of course she knew_ ”, the woman said slowly, looking over the warriors that kept on throwing rocks off the pile that was a tall building once. “ _They couldn’t tell us to get out though. The Mountain would have known of the skyboy then_ ”.

The healer gulped. “ _But… there are so many dead_ ”.

“ _We are in war_ ”, Anya didn’t look at the young woman. “ _People die in wars_ ”.

“ _They keep on killing our innocent people_ ”, the healer looked back to Gustus’ wound.

Anya chuckled before she had time to finish the sentence. “ _Inside that Mountain are civilians. You think our army would have let them all live after so many years of them trying to eliminate us?_ ”

“ _It was never going to be a rescue mission anyways_ ”, the healer frowned.

Anya whispered. “ _Innocents would have died on both sides. Ours are already dead_ ”.

\-----

Clarke remembered the walls collapsing around them in seconds, the dust closing up her throat painfully, Lexa’s hand snapping out to grab her arm and pull her close, her other hand shooting up and making tons of stone shift away from them slightly. Lexa had growled and shut her eyes and managed to drift the biggest amount of the rocks around them, before her own limits hit red and the Avatar started to shake, a stone’s weight managing to push past her bending control and hit Clarke hard. The last thing the blonde recalled was Lexa’s voice saying her name with a desperate tone.

Clarke sighed, dust hovering off the ground, and coughed again. She reached out her free hand, shaky fingers pressing against the side of the Commander’s neck, a strong wave of relief passing over her as a light throb pushed her fingers rhythmically. Lexa was bleeding and could have broken both of her legs or her spine but she was alive and for now, that was enough.

And like she had felt Clarke’s fingers on her neck, Lexa’s eyes trembled and opened a moment later, looking dazed. The brunette let out a groan of pure discomfort rather than pain, like she was rudely woken up from a nap or something. Clarke didn’t have the strength to roll her eyes at the lack of emotions that the woman showed even as her senses weren’t really in the right place.

Lexa’s eyes settled on her slowly, lightly unfocused. “ _Klark_ …”

“I’m okay”, Clarke whispered, realizing she still had her fingers on Lexa’s neck. It was a challenge to force her hand away so she didn’t try much, letting her fingertips rest on the Avatar’s warm skin, feeling the vibration of her weak whispers.

Lexa blinked slowly, like her eyes wanting desperately to close. “You are bleeding”.

Clarke hadn’t noticed and even now, it was impossible to think about that. She could not do much anyway, every part of her body hurt and could be bleeding. “Says you”, she answered, her voice rough and breaking over the words. Another cough crawled out of her mouth. “It’s so hot here”, she mumbled.

A moment later, a cool breeze passed over her exposed skin, dust raising off the dirt, a sigh of relief coming out of Clarke’s chest at the sensation. Lexa’s dark hair moved slightly along the soft dance of the air, her green eyes closing slowly.

Clarke’s hand pressed a bit more against the woman’s neck. “Hey, stay with me”.

Lexa sighed but opened her eyes regardless, looking exhausted. “We were too late”.

“We’re alive”, Clarke said, her finger pushing a bit harder against the dirty skin. “You saved us both, Lexa. We are alive”.

“ _Ain kru…_ ” Lexa tried to shift but her eyes shut closed, an expression of pain and desperation shifting over her face.

“English, please”. Clarke gulped, feeling the rock on her back pressing down. A warm drop of blood tickled its way down her ribcage. “Where does it hurt?”

“My arm. I think the shoulder is dislocated”.

“It didn’t heal completely from the Pauna, right?”

“Not completely”, Lexa whispered, closing her eyes. At the light soft shift of Clarke’s fingers, she opened them again. “Do you need any water, Clarke?”

Clarke blinked. “Where…?”

Lexa’s hand moved slowly over her upper arm, where it had stayed on unmoving. It shifted up, closer to Clarke’s face and then a few drops of water appeared in Lexa’s hand, forming a small shaky blob that dripped on Lexa’s hand and on the dirt. Clarke sighed and leaned forwards, her mind clearing as the cool liquid passed over her dry tongue and down her throat like a blessing.

Water passed over the blonde’s forehead, leaving a trail of relief on its way, cooling her overheated skin, gathering the dust and dirt and taking it away. A moment later, Clarke felt less trapped under the piles of stone and breathed more easily, her eyes opening to meet the Commander’s sleepy green ones.

“Will they find us?” Clarke whispered, seeing Lexa nod slowly.

“Anya will come for me”.

“If she’s still alive”, the blonde chocked, shutting her eyes at the thought of the dead bodies that would be now lying under stone and fallen houses, burned to ashes from the impact of the missile. The thought that she could have prevented this burned at the back of her mind painfully, throbbing along the wounds of her body. _Were their deaths on her now?_

“I’m the Commander”, Lexa’s voice cut through her thoughts. She’d turned her head up, looking at the stones that blocked every way of getting out on their own. “They will come for me”.

Clarke let out a shaky breath. “How will they find us though? I mean, this is a mess of rocks and we are underground anyways. They can’t know where we are”.

Lexa’s voice was tired. “Clarke. They will find us”.

Silence settled between the two of them. It was heavy and exhausted and hurt and it could be uncomfortable but neither of them had the energy to think about their own personal differences. Lexa’s eyes kept dropping as more and more blood kept spilling out of her head, the grounder’s body shaking hard from time to time, the white color of her skin that was showed by the light of the flame Clarke created making sure that the Commander had some kind of concussion and was too weak to do much.

Clarke’s eyes widened. “Your blood”.

“My blood?” Lexa’s voice was quiet but not confused.

Clarke moved the fire slightly closer. “It is… It is black”.

“Yes”.

“But… How… How is this possible? I…” she frowned. “Is it… natural? Or… how…”

“Besides our ability to control all elements, we also have black blood. It is another way of us to be found at such a young age. You may hear the Avatars being called Nightbloods”.

“Is this some kind of… effect of radiation?”

“Radiation?” the word sat uncomfortably on Lexa’s tongue.

“It is…”

“I know”, Lexa gulped and blinked, like she wanted to clear her head. “The Avatars have explained it to me but I have not used this term often”.

“The… dead Avatars?”

Lexa’s green eyes closed, taking the reflection of the flame with them. “Yes”.

Clarke closed her own eyes as well, feeling a throb starting at the side of her head. It was too much to even think about whatever was slowly rolling off Lexa’s mouth, the concept too heavy for her tired mind to take. “Remind me to ask you about all these after your people get us out of this mess”.

“You say my people like it is a dangerous thing”.

Clarke paused. “They haven’t really been kind to us”.

A light chuckle filled the small space. “Neither have yours”.

Clarke nodded slowly, huffing a cough to clear her throat. “True”.

The blonde could feel Lexa hesitating. “This tragedy might change their relationship”.

Clarke felt something heavy settle on her chest, her eyes clenching as she thought of blood, ashes and unmoving bodies. She exhaled deeply. “I could have warned them”.

“No, you did nothing wrong”. Lexa’s eyes closed. “These deaths are on me. I could… I could have stopped the missile. I could have protected them. I’d taken an oath to do anything to protect them and…” Lexa sighed deeply.

“How the hell would you be able to stop a damn missile, Lexa?”

“There are ways for an Avatar to master all five elements at once and tame things that seem unbeatable. We call it the Avatar State and maybe, just maybe, I could…”

“You were underground and couldn’t know the bomb would drop so soon”. Clarke’s eyebrows frowned again. “Five elements you said?”

Lexa sighed tiredly. “A big conversation for another time, Clarke”.

“But…”

“I might have been able to stop that bomb”, Lexa mumbled, closing her eyes again. “I planned on getting on a cliff or… some place in the woods and…”

It was the first time Clarke saw the Commander at the loss of words. “You were not really going to run, were you?”

“I really don’t know, Clarke”, Lexa pressed her face harder against the ground. “The Mountain’s _tech…_ It is very powerful. They turned us into Reapers, killed us, stripped us off our abilities, used our blood like some kind of animals… I didn’t know if I would be able to stop this attack, if I would be powerful enough to prevent it from hitting. I just know that the only sure thing is that there is absolutely no way I can die in times like these, Clarke”.

Clarke sighed, feeling her eyes burning, her throat closing up with tears. “We… make mistakes and people die. It’s too much. Are we even going to wash this blood off our hands?”

Lexa smiled sadly. “The ones who remain… We make their dreams come true. That’s our forgiveness. At the end we hope our souls will be accepted in the Spirit World”.

“The Spirit World”, Clarke asked. “Is that like your version of the afterlife?”

Lexa sighed, closing her eyes slowly. Her voice was a whisper as she started to talk of another place, where only Avatars could visit, where no man had returned from, tiny animals of all kinds living in it, the trees and flowers and clouds being bigger, higher and marvelous, faint colors of blue and green and red filling it, spirits of humans and Avatars that were long gone, living forever and in peace.

There was no need for survival there, no need for food and water and sleep, another chance for the souls of the people that died painfully and deserved an easier life out of this world they had lived and died in. The people in the Spirit World weren’t at all familiar and were just simple civilians, some of them talking of the Old World before _Praimfaya_ like they had lived back then. They knew strategy and war and death and they gave advice to the Commander along with the past Avatars, their knowledge of the world and their stories of the past extraordinary and filled with wonders.

Clarke held her questions, her body too hurt to allow her blurred mind to focus, an irresistible urge to go to sleep threatening to take over her mind, her tired senses listening to Lexa’s soft whisper talking of a world of peace and calmness.

\-----

“ _Where is the Commander_?” Indra was limping but it didn’t stop her from rushing.

Anya sighed as she watched her old mentor leaning dangerously on weak knees, her own hand shooting out to steady the other Earthbender. The warriors turned to look at their Nation Leader, stopping for a second. Gustus’ low growl was enough to make them snap back at the pile of stones.

Glancing at the _Skaikru_ male healer that stood beside Octavia shifting on his feet, his hand nervously playing with a blue cloth with _Floukru_ ’s symbol on it. A Waterbender under their training. Anya sighed again. “We last saw her going downstairs with _Klark kom Skaikru_ ”.

Octavia gulped hard. “Why are you not working faster? They might need medical attention. Abby won’t be happy and… They could be seriously injured down there, losing blood…”

“We can’t risk an accident”, Anya cut the young girl off. “There are still many feet of stone to get off before we’re sure that there won’t be one falling on their heads and killing them or injuring them farther”.

“But…”

“ _Quiet_ ”, Anya growled at the girl, shutting her up again. She pressed two fingers on her eyes, feeling the annoying headache growing. The bruise on her cheek throbbed. “ _The army_?”

Indra sighed. “ _None of the warriors was hurt. Their generals have already gathered in a camp they have set up on the cliff. They want to talk about the attack_ ”.

“ _I need to make sure the Avatar is okay_ ”, Anya said quietly. “ _Are you okay to go_?”

“ _This was your village_ ”, Indra placed a hand on the arm of her former second. “ _They will understand why you are not there_ ”.

She nodded, her hand heavily falling on Gustus’ shoulder to keep her body up.

“Anya”.

The Earthbender met the woman’s brown tired eyes.

“Find the Avatar alive”.

\-----

“If I ask you something will you answer honestly as Lexa? Not the Commander”.

“But I am the Commander, Clarke”.

“Yes but the Commander is ruthless and has to be confident that we will win for sure this thing. Lexa might stay up at night after the battle”.

“You want be to tell you if I believe that we will win”.

Clarke scowled. “Yes”.

Lexa’s lips were tugged up in their usual half smile. “Yes, I think we will win. But our losses will be many. The Mountain Men have some dangerous armory that I cannot know if its power can be stopped by out bending abilities”.

“So like. We have bending and they have machine guns”.

Lexa hummed. “Both sides have advantages against the other”.

“But you are sure that we will win”, Clarke coughed deeply.

“We have numbers they cannot handle. If a warrior falls, three more will be there to take their place. The Mountain Men cannot handle so many of us”.

Clarke gulped heavily, “But our losses can be too many”.

“That’s our main problem. Will our losses be worth by the victorious end of this war? The warriors will say yes and believe it with their whole soul. As their Commander I believe the same but as just me…” Lexa closed her eyes slowly. Her voice came as a whisper. “I won’t be sleeping for a long time after this war, Clarke”.

\-----

“… _Klark_ ”.

“ _Clarke, wake up_ ”.

“They are here, wake up”.

Clarke blinked open her burning eyes, feeling a warm hand on the side of her neck, a relieving wave of cool, clear night air passing over her overheated dirty skin. Her ears caught the close sound of people shouting and talking from above her, dust falling all around her as stone shifted on stone.

She almost cried in relief.

Lexa was looking at her in the darkness and Clarke’s fingers curled firmer on the skin of the Avatar’s neck, where her hand had stayed on the past hours, growing heavy, a dull bothering feeling rather than pain. Her legs shifted in their small space, a tickling sensation passing through them as blood started to move slowly through them once again, her trapped hand managing to also shift an inch, promising it would hurt her as soon as it got free.

Anya’s eyes were red and exhausted, her sigh of relief being answered by Clarke’s own. A moment later, the rock on her back was lifted off of her, being replaced with cold air that cooled her skin. Strong hands wrapped around her body before she had the time to move on her own, pulling her up effortlessly, her muscles almost crying out at the sudden movement, a groan leaving her mouth at the sudden movements.

She only had a second to look around before Abby was over her, desperately calling out her name. Her mother’s face was grey with dirt and ashes, dry blood sticking on her forehead. Clarke marveled at the way her hands moved over her hurt body with sure and steady movements while the rest of her trembled. Clarke reached out with her good hand to take a comforting hold of her mother’s upper arm.

“Where are you hurt?” Abby’s voice was harsh, a doctor’s tone that demanded a full answer to the question. Her eyes were already searching Clarke’s body, her focus on the blonde’s limp arm, her hands pulling at her ripped shirt.

 _Everywhere_ , Clarke thought of answering but she took in a deep breath and focused on the parts of her that truly _hurt_. Her left arm was an issue, been trapped under her bodyweight for hours, the blood just starting to move painfully through the muscles, pins and needles travelling through it viciously. Her lower back stank painfully, Clarke only now realizing that there was a wound there, still spitting out hot blood, the cuts that the rock had made there, pulling as she shifted in her sitting position. The bridge of her nose also throbbed along with her heartbeat, a warm tickling crawling down a bit slowly, blood slipping down her cheek and nose.

Abby was fast and in a few moments, Clarke’s arm was pulled in a handmade sling, clean bandages were wrapped around the cuts of her lower back, wet cloths pressed against the shallow wound on her legs, arms and face. Her mother worked quickly to clean her skin from most dry blood and dirt, to see if there were any other wounds, a comforting and warm motherly gesture that Clarke starved for.

At the thought of comfort, Clarke’s eyes opened slowly and looked up, bile gathering at the back of her throat as her gaze shifted over dust, fallen buildings and huge piles of rocks. There were people everywhere, leaning over wounded, rocks been lifted off the ground to show more injured people underneath them. Moans of pain and grief sounded everywhere, warriors running with children in their arms, an unforgettable chaos of sounds of agony.

“I did this”, she whispered, blue eyes emptying in seconds.

Abby jolted back, looking down at her daughter with wide eyes. “What?”

“I knew about the missile”, Clarke whispered. “I didn’t tell anyone”.

Abby paused, her eyes shifting all over her daughter’s face, her lips pressing in a very thin line. The woman didn’t say anything as she turned her attention back on the cut that spread along Clarke’s arm. Her moves seemed harsher and Clarke curled farther into herself, her eyes turning to look back, at Anya’s worried voice and Lexa’s serious face.

The Commander was sat on a stone, her eyebrows frowned, her face blank, a line of dark blood covering the side of her face, a bruise already forming on her right cheek. A healer was leaning over her, tying up one of her arm, his hands careful and his eyes guarded as he wrapped the sling around the brunette’s neck, even if Lexa’s attention was on Gustus, who was sat heavily next to her, breathing with difficulty. Anya was also next to him, pressing a cloth on left his ribcage, looking angry as she growled out sharp words at him. Clarke watched the way Lexa’s hand was wrapped around Gustus’ in a tight grip and how her eyes kept on searching his body for injuries.

Like she sensed the blue eyes on her, Lexa turned away from the man and looked at the blonde skygirl, seeing agony in the orbs that had lost their sparkle in the dark of the night. It was like seeing a glimmer of a flame trying to keep burning despite what wanted to put it out. Lexa watched as the fire in Clarke’s eyes turned into a thin line of smoke.

Clarke watched as Lexa’s eyes hardened all of the sudden, her jaw setting in a very hard line. The Commander’s hand softly pushed away the healer that had wrapped up her dislocated shoulder, standing up, ignoring both Anya and Gustus that started to talk to her with angry, rushed words in _Trigedasleng_. Clarke watched Lexa raising up, tall and unbroken by her injuries, her eyes deathly. In a couple of seconds, every head had turned and all eyes were looking at the Commander, silence falling.

Lexa’s voice started as a shout and turned into a raged growl. “What happened here will not go unanswered. The Mountain _will_ fall. The dead want and will be avenged!”

The simple phrase had shouts of fury and agreement raising over the crowd, echoing over the fallen buildings and piles of stone. The grounders called out Lexa’s title as it was a war cry and a prayer at the same time, the now familiar _blood must have blood_ following rhythmically, powerful and full of vengeance.

Clarke found herself whispering the words mindlessly.

Her chin rose, her gaze locking with Lexa’s through the darkness.

Lexa saw the fire exploding up in the blue eyes again.

Above them, the sky crackled and hissed as a lone blue lightening flashed by.

The first drops of rain started to fall.

The war was closer than they thought.

Their dead wanted and would be avenged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More than a month? What are you guys talking about??? It's been a month???
> 
> Yes, it has fucking been a month and I'm so so so so sorry, you guyssss. No excuses other than the one about life being fucking crazy right now and me having no time to sit down and write something good. I'm soooooo sorry, people.
> 
> Okay so the last chapter was a cliffhanger I know, I know, many of you were fucking pissed I didn't stopped the missile ;) But you know, suspence and plot and all this shit. Well, I hope you liked this chapter, you beautiful people! Please kindly tell me your thoughts, anything you want me to add or explore more. 
> 
> Until the next one, I wish you have a good time and stay gorgeous and safe!
> 
> ps. pay attention to stuff the characters say


	11. Chapter 11

Clarke walked through the camp that had been set up a mile away from the remains of Ton DC, her steps fast and sure as they carried her among tents and tired warriors. It had been a day since the bombing at the sounds of pain were still echoing around, the smell of fire and death hovered in the air. Generals were still counting the dead, the warriors still talked in angry voices, _needing_ the blood of the enemy that was still able to cause so many destruction and loses. They were ready to fight and die if it’d mean the Mountain would fall.

“Clarke. Hey”, Octavia jogged close to her, gaining her attention.

The blonde still didn’t know how the little Blake had managed to survive, the wave of relief she felt every time she saw Octavia running around in the camp helping people had her knees bending slightly. Just the thought that Clarke was almost ready to run away and leave everyone behind, leave _Octavia_ behind, had her stomach twisting all too dangerously. She had already thrown up once before at the thought.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

A snipper had been placed just over the hill that looked over the ruins of Ton DC, his bullets killing a couple of survivors, his death coming easily to the hands of Lincoln. A bullet had managed to grace Octavia’s leg, making the young second limp heavily. Of course, it wasn’t going to slow the girl down.

“I’m fine”, Octavia said firmly, her eyes sparkling under the dark war paint. “Raven radioed in. Your mom told her what happened. She was worried about you”.

Clarke gulped, tension filling her body. Raven knew that Clarke had fled Camp Jaha to warn everyone about the missile. Nobody could know that Clarke and Lexa knew and hadn’t informed the people right away. It could break the alliance, it could mean the end of the war.

“What did my mom say?” Clarke managed to ask, keeping her voice steady and calm. Abby knew, Abby knew, Abby knew. Abby could have told everyone by now but for some reason still hadn’t. Clarke hoped her mother understood that the alliance was balancing on a very thin line.

“I wasn’t there”, Octavia waved her hand dismissively. “Too busy lifting rocks”.

Clarke’s smile was shaky and lacked humor.

“Where are you going anyway at this hour?” Octavia’s fingers tuned around a loose thin string, turning it around and around her thumb. “I am patrolling, what is your excuse?”

A pang pulled at Clarke’s chest. “You should rest a bit”.

Octavia rolled her eyes. “Sure thing, _mom_ ”.

“Shut up”.

Octavia chuckled, her eyes landing on Lincoln, who sat alone close to a small fire, his jaw working as he chewed slowly. The brunette sighed as she looked at him, a small smile pulling at Clarke’s lips at the way Octavia’s gaze softened. “Is he okay?”

Octavia shrugged slowly. “We are working on it”.

“He’s lucky he has you, O…”

“Thanks, Clarke”, the younger girl sighed.

They walked close to the edge of the camp, looking over the dark horizon that was lightened up by the strong moonlight. The generals tents were all gathered up to the top of the cliff, an impressive camp spreading out below it, the warriors gathered all together among uncountable smaller huts and tents, hidden by the cover of the tall trees of that part of the forest. Torches and bonfires were placed here and there, an impressive amount of shapes being formed by the Firebenders every now and then, their sight taking away some of the grief of the day, distracting the people that had survived the bombing and had not taken a place in the army.

A group of Skaikru had also settled among the grounders, the medicine and supplies still coming constantly from Camp Jaha for the injured. Clarke was glad to finally hear the Arkers and grounders talking like they didn’t want to rip each other into pieces.

Clarke’s thoughts were cut off as her body dumped into another one, the grounder woman reaching out and grasping Clarke’s upper arm in a tight grip, helping them both to keep their balance. A word in _Trigedasleng_ came muffled from the woman and Clarke rose her eyes to find a pair of grey ones looking back at her confused and worried.

“Shit, sorry”, Clarke cleared her throat, taking a step away from the other woman.

“No, no, I’m the one who should apologize, _Klark kom Skaikru_ ”.

_What was up with grounder women making her name sound so damn good?_

“I wasn’t really looking”, Clarke cleared her throat, ready to keep walking but the other one didn’t look ready to move. Only then did Clarke realize that this grounder had a unique kind of beauty.

There were four thick scars travelling down her cheeks, too parallel to be an accident or an injury. Her skin was pale, too pale someone would say, but it did make her eyes stand out, their warm brown color captivating in a way that Clarke had never seen in her life before. Long brunette hair were pulled back in a messy bun on the top of her head, a few strands falling free around her round face.

White fur hugged her shoulders elegantly, her leather clothes were painted in a faint blue, grey lashes pulling the fur tightly against her body. Clarke had to force her eyes away from the tight pants that wrapped around strong legs dangerously good. A pair of boots came up the woman’s legs, stopping just below her knees, simple white fur decorating them. A long sword was securely strapped on the woman’s waist, a small hand mindlessly wrapped around its handle.

Clarke looked up to find a smug smirk on the woman’s thin lips and she realized that she was staring for a very long time. The blonde felt heat raising up her cheeks and a wave of relief passed by her, glad that the darkness of the night covered her blush.

Octavia snorted, throwing a pointed look at the blonde before turning on her heels and disappearing in the shadows without a word. That little shitty traitor.

A hand shot out. “My name is Anniel”.

Clarke took it, realizing that the woman’s grip was awkward in her hold. It took her a second to remember that the grounders didn’t usually shake her hands as a greeting or introduction, so Clarke let go quickly. “I’m Clarke”.

“I know”, Anniel smirked again, her whole face shifting with the wide smile, a pair of dimples appearing on her cheeks. Clarke cursed under her breath at the damn sight of them. “I have been present in the war meetings since the first day”.

“Oh shit, I… huh… forget faces”, Clarke made a face at the words that straggled to come out of her mouth. Sometimes she forgot she was only eighteen and it was a very normal reaction of a teenager to shutter when it came to attractive people. It was still embarrassing, considering she was the one planning a war and was giving orders around to grown ass warriors. The clear reminder of the burned village had her mind focusing harshly on the reality of war.

“That is okay”, Anniel smiled again, more sweetly this time. “I let the generals do the talking. I’m just a young, new chief that doesn’t really have to say much”.

“What part of the army?” Clarke managed to say.

“ _Azgeda’s_ archers”.

Clarke’s head snapped up slightly. She took in the woman again and realized that it made sense only by looking at her. Dangerous looking face, white and blue fur over her body, the scars, warm clothes and hands smudged with white paint.

_She was captured by the Ice Nation, whose Queen believed she knew my secrets._  
Because she was mine.  
They tortured her, killed her, cut off her head.

Clarke gulped lightly, blinking at the memory and forcing a small smile at the woman. She was a good actress so she made her smile playful and she gave a small bow. “It is a pleasure to have you helping us with this war”.

Anniel chuckled, shifting, shrugging. It was difficult to imagine her torturing someone just because she hated a leader. “Well, thank you for giving us a chance to take those monsters down for good”.

Clarke smiled again, nodding and taking a step around the woman, feeling her brown eyes on her back as she walked away. She was more than relieved when she reached Lexa’s tent and ducked inside, the guard outside not even making a move to stop her from getting in, his orders clear about this skygirl.

Gustus looked up from where he sat at a side table, his eyes measuring her up. There were two plates on the table, half empty, two cups next to them, a candle burning softly in the middle, more of them being placed around the tent, giving a warm light. They sparkled up when she walked in, like a small greeting.

“Clarke”, Lexa’s voice came before her form, the brunette coming out from the back part of the tent. Clarke blinked at the sight of the Avatar’s unusual casual look; her armor replaced by light clothes, her feet in untightened boots, hair loosened off its braids and falling freely over her shoulder, coat unbuttoned. “I did not expect you”, she said simply but her voice didn’t betray any surprise at seeing her.

“Commander”, Clarke said, sending a glance at Gustus, who was leaning back on his chair and was looking at her with a judgmental look, looking like he could see right through her soul or something.

Lexa turned to look at her guard. “Gustus, thank you for your company tonight”. The man stood up with a sigh and a nod, shooting an answering glare at Clarke. “Have a good night”.

“ _You too, Heda_ ”, Gustus bowed his head and walked out of the tent without a word, taking his plate and cup with him. He walked closer than needed to Clarke, a warning in the way his body moved even without him talking. She blinked.

“Clarke”, Lexa said her name again, getting back her attention. “What do you need?”

The blonde looked at the Commander’s still tied arm, the long cut to the side of her eyebrow and the bruises on her face. It had been a day since the bombing of Ton DC and Clarke could still feel the rock pressing against her lower back. There was a very impressive bruise on her own cheek and a deep cut across the bridge of her nose to remind her of that night. But the bruises would fade, the memories not so much.

“Just to see how you’re doing”, Clarke breathed out, the honest words rolling off her tongue with ease. “Yesterday… Thank you for saving my life”.

Lexa nodded slowly, reaching out and taking a long sip from the cup in her hand. She looked more at calm, more relaxed than other times, her shoulders curled slightly in rather than standing straight up like always. There was a small invisible unsteadiness in the way she stood.

Clarke felt a smile tugging up the corner of her mouth. “Lexa”, she huffed out a laugh as eyes turned to look at her, lightly unfocused. “Are you drunk?”

Green eyes widened lightly. She straightened her back. “I… did drink some wine. But I am not affected by it. Just a bit more at ease”.

“A bit more at ease?” Clarke laughed again, louder. She walked closer to the table to take a long sniff of the bottle on the table. The rich scent filled her senses. “That is a strong one, how much did you drink of that?”

Lexa looked sheepishly up at her, her body moving almost lazily towards her seat. “It was a long couple of days”.

The heaviness in the Commander’s voice had the smile in Clarke’s face fading. There had been an odd emptiness in Lexa’s gaze from the moment Clarke woke under the piles of stone and ruins. The blonde could see that the bombing of Ton DC had taken a toll on the Commander, even if Lexa seemed more than willing to leave the people to be bombed just to win the war.

“So… wine?” Clarke tilted her head, leaning on the edge of the table.

“Helps sleep”, Lexa sighed, taking a bite of the pieces of meat in her plate. Clarke’s eyes followed the way the brunette’s jawline moved, its sharpness impressive even in a simple moment like this. “What is on your mind, Clarke?”

Clarke’s lips pressed in a thin line. “Bellamy. What if it’s too dangerous and I sent him in there anyway?”

Lexa sighed, looking slightly bored now. “He is a warrior. He will be fine”.

“How do you know?” Clarke chewed on her bottom lip, looking over at the map that Lexa had hanged up over a table. “If he dies… We need him and… and I might be the one who sent him get killed in the hands of the enemy. I couldn’t have kept us alive through all this time without him. He cannot die”.

Lexa leaned back, her green eyes looking up at her, a determined look in her burning gaze. “This is war, Clarke. People get killed and you will need to look them into their eyes while the life slips from them”.

“I can’t do that”, Clarke shook her head, turning to meet the brunette’s hard eyes. It was always a shock to see the Commander coexist with Lexa in the same gaze. Clarke shrugged helplessly.

“You’re the leader of your people”, Lexa said quietly, circling the top of the cup with her finger. “They chose you because they think you’re the best person that can save them, the one they think that can take their hopes and dreams and make them real. And because of that they will fight and die for you”.

“I never asked for that”.

“None of us did”, Lexa took a sip of the wine, her voice coming out as a whisper. She looked up at Clarke again, her eyes dull and unguarded for the first time. “You were born for this, Clarke. Same as me”.

Clarke watched the young woman that sat next to her, a young woman that was not the Commander, not the one that could control the whole planet and its elements. It was surreal, knowing that this young woman was the most powerful human being on this world and seeing her drinking wine and looking so small and so innocent. A body so fragile holding so much power, a mind so strong being dazed with sleep and a soul so old looking so very young but still holding the biggest weight in the world.

“How old were you?” Clarke almost didn’t recognized her own voice.

Lexa leaned forwards slowly, taking another bite from her food. “Sixteen”.

Clarke felt her eyebrows raising up. “Sixteen?!”

The corner of Lexa’s lips was pulled up. “That is a normal age of an Avatar to become Heda. Commanders do not live very long”.

“Why not?”

“They usually die during war. Assassinations are common too. We may be powerful, but we are not immortal”, Lexa glanced up at Clarke. “Usually there’s always another Avatar to take command right away”.

“Anya said that one is born every seven years”.

Lexa nodded. “Yes. Nobody knows why”.

Clarke frowned. “Doesn’t that make you very rare? Why would someone want to kill Avatars? If there is a chance of your people not finding another one?”

Lexa smiled softly. “Being an Avatar isn’t really an issue. The Commander’s ruling is”.

The blonde nodded. “You have enemies”.

Lexa shrugged, looking tired. “Who doesn’t?”

Clarke hesitated. “Like… the Ice Nation?”

In a second, Lexa’s whole body tensed up, her face hardening and her face losing its sleepy innocence. She was the Commander all over again. Or a woman that had lost a loved one to an unpunished enemy.

“I have nothing against the clan”, Lexa said very slowly, anger hiding behind her calm tone. “They are tough people. Survivors, healers, good warriors, loyal to their beliefs and way of living. The problem is their Queen and the fear she uses to rule them. The generals and leaders most of all”.

“I spoke to one of their chiefs earlier”.

Lexa’s body froze for a second, her head slowly turning up to look at Clarke and the blonde feeling a light vibration under her feet, the air around in the tent growing a lot heavier. There was a dangerous fire being lightened up in the brunette’s eyes, a dark look appearing in the green orbs.

It all lasted a second and then Lexa’s calmness was back in place, her head moving slowly, like she wanted to clear her mind. Her voice was flat, “I would suggest you’d keep your guard up around their chiefs. Their orders are very clear and they do not change easily”.

“Orders from their Queen?” Clarke leaned closer, watching the brunette carefully.

The candle on the table spat out sparks even if the Commander’s face stayed blank. “Yes. She has given her word to each of her warriors and generals”.

Clarke nodded, gulping down the tight knot on her throat. Just then, a muffled word of Lexa’s title sounded from outside and Gustus was ducking his head in. Lexa’s back straightened in a split moment. “Anya is here”.

Lexa’s whole body relaxed, her shoulders curling in and her eyes filling with worry. A second later, the older woman slipped inside the tent, her face covered with ash and her eyes wet with unshed tears. The count of the dead was finished.

“One hundred and eight”, she said, her brown eyes empty. “Twenty seven children”, Anya’s voice broke, her body unsteady and then Lexa was on her feet and close to her old mentor, her arms wrapping around the woman as Anya’s knees bent under her own weight.

Clarke felt the number hitting her straight to the chest, a pang so strong that had her breath catching in her lungs painfully, pure agony curling in her stomach. She felt her own shoulders falling forwards at the realization that she could have warned them in time to save them. She could have saved them all.

Lexa’s smooth quiet voice filled the tent, the brunette’s body wrapping around Anya like she wanted to hide the woman from her grief and pain. “May they be led to the Spirit World safely… may the Avatars guard them in their travels. _Their fight is over. Their rest has just begun_ ”.

“May we meet again”, Clarke whispered as well, closing her eyes.

Anya exhaled shakily, her own arms wrapping around Lexa slowly. Her muffled sobs filled the tent, Lexa helping her lower to the floor slowly, holding her close the whole time, green eyes closing as well, the weak flames of the candles burning out into thin lines of gray smoke, filling the entire tent with thick darkness. Clarke felt out of place watching, like she was interrupting a private moment between the two women.

She waved her hand softly before she left the tent, lightening up twenty seven candles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again, you beautiful people, how are you doing, how are you doing, anyone excited winter break is coming up because I. SURE. AS. HELL. AM!
> 
> here we go with a new chapter, a small time of calmness for my poor poor characters and a comment about the Azgeda warrior, I wanted to look a bit into Lexa and her feeling for this clan but I DO NOT know if Anniel is going to play a bigger role in this story just yet. If you have any thoughts of her fitting in (here's a reminder that this story follows the series cannon with a few changes so pretty much you know the concept (except that YOU DON'T because oh boy have I changed stuff and here's an evil laughter sounding)) you guys tell me without a second thought, okay? Thanks.
> 
> Hoped you liked Lexa's small moment of openess with Clarke, Clexa is strong on building in my opinion ;) Hoped you also liked and the rest of it, leave some kudos and comments and tell me what you guys thought of it! Until the next one, have a wonderful time!!


	12. Chapter 12

Clarke ducked away from the huge piece of stone that flew towards her head, a very sharp movement of her right hand sending a ball of flames flying through the air with speed, to collide… with another damn flat rock that perfectly blocked her fast attack. Octavia smirked behind the dust and smoke.

She growled, feeling sparkling heat travelling down her arm as she twisted slightly to deliver a sharp horizontal movement with her leg, a long wave of burning flames and thick smoke speeding towards Octavia’s wide eyes. The young Earthbender managed to block the attack with a huge uneven piece of stone that shot up off the ground, its force having her stumbling back just a bit. Octavia frowned, a visible drop of sweat slowly sliding down her forehead. Seeing an opening, Clarke punched the air in front of her, fire escaping from her fist, a hissing sound echoing around as Octavia jerked to the side, a mix of dirt and wood flying in front of the burning heat stopping the flame from getting closer to the other girl. Clarke mumbled at the teasing chuckle.

“Don’t stop moving”, Zack said firmly from the sideline, his hand rubbing his chin.

“Don’t get cocky”, Indra shouted from next to him.

“The first one left standing eats dinner”, Anya shouted as well, earning a punch on her upper arm from Indra and a laugh from Ryder. Raven rolled her eyes, leaning farther back on the pack she had placed between her shoulder blades and the log.

Both Clarke and Octavia nodded, ignoring the blonde Earthbender.

It had been three whole days since the bombing of Ton DC and the plan was formed, their army prepared and restless, Raven had everything ready and waiting to be used and Bellamy was the last one that needed to give the okay about the acid fog for the army to move. All they could do was wait. Training was a very good distraction and a constant effective way of keeping their impatience in check.

The Arkers had been training in their free time without resting, all of them now able to tame their bending and use it. Many grounders had taken it upon themselves to teach them how to fight, benders and not benders alike and Clarke knew that it was Lexa’s word that had them doing so. Groups of warriors of all Nations had arrived at Camp Jaha and started training everyone, most guards now able to bend perfectly. It would be one more strength during the fight with the Mountain and Clarke was a lot more at ease, knowing that the people, who would fight with the grounders, were prepared as best as possible.

“Well, they should eat dinner now”, a new voice sounded from behind them, making Clarke turn to look at Lexa standing near the training pit. A hard stone collided with the back of her head, making sharp pain flow through her skull. She turned to send a ball of fire at Octavia’s teasing look, its force harsher than expected. The girl’s sleeve caught on fire, a yelp leaving Octavia’s mouth and a blob of water leaving Lexa’s fist to put out the flames. The young Earthbender growled at Clarke but their attention was captured by the grounders’ sudden movement. All of the sudden, they were on their feet and bowing before Lexa and… an unknown to Clarke kid, that stood with his back straight and his face blank.

Raven, Octavia and Clarke shared a confused look.

“Rise”, Lexa said, the blonde kid shifting lightly on his feet. Lexa turned to look at the three Arkers. “Meet Aden, the oldest Avatar, after me”. She looked down at the kid and smiled softly. “When I die, he is going to be the next Commander”.

“He is a _kid_ ”, Raven spoke up, looking unconvinced.

Anya slapped her arm, her eyes wide. Raven shrugged, shaking a hand towards Aden and widening her own eyes at the other woman. Anya shook her head back at Raven and slapped her arm again. Raven glared sharply and gave a slap of her own.

Octavia burst out laughing. Clarke bit her lower lip to stop the smile from spreading.

“ _Avatar_ ”, Indra stood up and slapped the back of Octavia’s neck. “ _Excuse them. They do not know of our culture_ ”.

The kid nodded slowly. “ _Do not worry, Indra. They are funny to watch_ ”.

Anya stood up and approached as well. “ _Good to see you again, Avatar Aden_ ”.

“ _Anya_ ”, Aden bowed his head slowly at the general. “ _My condolences for the people of your village. May the past Avatars lead them to the Spirit World with safety_ ”.

Anya bowed deeply. “ _Thank you, Avatar Aden_ ”.

Lexa softly place a hand on the kid’s shoulder and looked over the warriors that had gathered around. “Dinner is warm and getting served”, she said with a firm but also a caring tone. “You should all go before it gets cold”.

Clarke was the only one who saw Anya rolling her eyes and leaning closer to Lexa to mumbled out a “ _sure thing, mother_ ”. Aden’s lips pulled back into a wide smile while Lexa rolled her eyes at her older mentor. Clarke approached them slowly, watching Raven and Octavia walk back towards the camp. She gripped her coat in her hand, wiping the dust and dirt with an equal dirty hand. Neither of the two grounders seemed to mind her messy appearance.

“Aden, this is Clarke”, Lexa’s voice had Clarke looking back at her. “The leader of the Sky People and a very sharp strategic mind”.

He nodded his head at Clarke slowly, a small smile crossing his lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Clarke of the Sky People”.

Clarke bit her tongue to keep from laughing at the formality that rolled off this child's tongue. “You too, Avatar Aden”.

Lexa looked at her for a moment before turning to look down at the body. “You’d eat too. You had a long journey today. There is a meeting later today, try to sleep a little before it”.

Aden bowed his head at Lexa. “Yes, Heda”.

Clarke crossed her arms, seeing his tiny body move away, a guard she’d never seen before, following him like a shadow. The blonde was already looking at Lexa before the brunette turned to face her. Clarke smiled and raised an eyebrow.

“What is it?” Lexa looked confused.

Clarke’s smile widened. “He is a copy of you, do you know that?”

Lexa’s face changed into surprise. “He is not”.

“Oh yeah, he is”, Clarke laughed. “You’ve turned him into a male little Lexa”.

The brunette shook his head. “I… My teaching are important, Clarke, and he…”

“I’m kidding”, Clarke laughed louder and winked. “It’s called teasing, woman”.

Lexa straightened her back, humor sparkling in her eyes. “I’m aware of the concept. But under other circumstances”.

Clarke felt her mind shut down, burning heat raising up her cheeks as she processed the words, her jaw growing slack as shock passed over her body. Lexa smirked softly before she turned around and walked away from a very speechless Clarke who stood back and watched her go with her back straight and her chin up.

A body stopped next to her. “There are bees flying around, Clarke”. Zack was looking down as he strapped his sword on his belt. “You should shut your mouth before one flies in. That would be painful”.

Clarke sent a ball of fire towards his face.

\-----

Clarke leaned back on the table, watching the generals of the army sitting together, a harmony of words spoken in _Trigedasleng_ coming from every direction. Her eyes followed the little seconds waiting besides their mentors, listening eagerly and with their whole focus on every sentence that came out of the chiefs’ mouths.

Her eyes met Anniel’s in the crowd and she quickly looked away, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that gathered somewhere deep in her chest.

A heavy sigh came from next to her, gaining her attention, Raven’s body dropping an inch away from her own, a tired groan coming from her mouth. The two had not had a chance to talk since the mechanic’s arrival earlier that day and Clarke was glad that the brunette had walked up to her.

“How’re you doing?” Raven beat her to it, asking the winning question first.

Clarke scoffed. “I’m worried to death”.

“About Bellamy?”

“It has been two days since you gave him the details of how to disable to fog. Why has he not radioed back?” Clarke sighed, leaning her head back.

Raven shook her head. “I have no idea. Does Octavia know?”

“No”, Clarke closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead. “We told her he checks in once a day”. She chewed on her bottom lip. “ _I’m_ going crazy, imagine Octavia”.

Raven sighed and nodded. “It’s not right to keep something like that from her”.

Clarke nodded as well, feeling tired. “A lot of secrets going on lately”.

“What does that mean?”

Clarke shrugged. “Bellamy, something’s up with _Azgeda_ and _Trikru_ that nobody talks about, the bomb, the…”

“What about the bomb?” Raven frowned. “It was no secret”.

Clarke gulped. Raven’s eyes narrowed. They flashed dangerously.

“You fucking didn’t”, the mechanic whispered.

Clarke closed her eyes. “I had to keep Bellamy safe”.

Raven’s whole body shifted, tensing up. “So you… didn’t tell anyone that there was a goddamned _missile_ ready to drop onto their heads?! What the actual fuck, Clarke?! I thought you just didn’t make it in time to inform them”.

“Keep your voice down”, Clarke mumbled, grasping Raven’s arm. “They would have known we have a spy inside if we evacuated”.

Raven shook her head. “This is the Commander talking”.

Clarke saw sparks exploding up from the closest fire. She calmed the flames before anyone saw the sharp movement. “Raven, if they find out we knew, the alliance will break”.

“Jesus, Clarke”, Raven stood up, eyes burning. “How many dead, huh? How many?”

Clarke gulped. “I know, okay? Nothing I say is going to be enough”.

Raven pulled back. “You keep deciding who is going to live and who is gonna die. You are no god, Clarke! First Finn and now a whole damned village? You… Jesus Christ”.

Clarke pointed a shaky finger at herself. “I haven’t slept since that day”. She pointed at Raven. “I’m trying to win this war, okay? Get our friends out of there for good. I’m making the decisions that will make that happen as soon as possible”.

“By killing hundreds, Clarke, what are you doing?” Raven said loudly and Clarke shut her eyes as a few heads turned. Raven lowered her voice. “This isn’t you. You could have saved them all”.

“Raven, please, _listen_ to me”. Clarke’s voice was desperate. “They would know we’ve got someone inside. I had to protect that, I had to…”

“Clarke, I understand that… your decisions…” Raven sighed with difficulty. “We put a weight on you, I know we did. Being a leader during war… I’m not stupid and I know you care about all of it but…” Raven shook her head slowly, closing her eyes. “I need some time, okay? Those deaths…”

“I know”, Clarke raised her eyes up, towards the night sky. “It was too much”.

“Yeah”, Raven bit her lip, reaching out to grasp Clarke’s arm softly. “Give me some time. I… I will come to you when I clear my head, I promise”.

The blonde nodded slowly. “Anything you need, Raven”.

Silence fell between them and then Raven was turning on her heels, walking towards their shared tent. Clarke closed her eyes and sighed loudly, feeling her shoulder bent a bit forwards, her eyes burning as tears build up behind her eyelids.

Gustus nodded at her quietly and she nodded back before she ducked inside the tent to find Lexa over a table, a map on it. Clarke’s blue eyes stopped on the pencil in the Commander’s hand, its sharp edge running over the paper smoothly, words been left behind in side delicate letters. English, Clarke realized as she stepped next to Lexa.

“Hello, Clarke”, the woman greeted her quietly without lifting her eyes. The bark war paint was placed on her face smoothly, slightly faded after so long of being there. An irresistible urge to reach up and wipe away a smudged side of a long edge came over the blonde, her hand twisting on her side.

“Didn’t know that you could write”, Clarke cleared her throat softly.

“Not many of us can”, Lexa whispered. “The people in Polis learn to read and write in a young age but… the children of the villages of the clans…” she shook her head. “I’m still working on a solution that doesn’t have to force the kids away from their home”.

Something softened in Clarke’s chest. “Why don’t you send teachers to the capitals of every clan? Better have a few kids learning than none, right?”

Lexa’s lips tugged up in a half smile. “We don’t have that many teachers”.

“Why not?”

Lexa sighed, straightening her back and letting the pencil drop on the table. Clarke’s own fingers wrapped around it slowly, feeling the smoothness of the wood. “Most of us train to be warriors on top of everything else”, Lexa rolled her shoulders. “Being a teacher is an honor but… it crosses out the path of a warrior. Unfortunately, there’re still very few people that choose to follow another road of life”. Lexa turned to look at Clarke, her green eyes meeting her blue ones. “What is wrong?”

Clarke gulped. “Raven knows we didn’t inform anyone about the missile”.

In seconds, Lexa’s body was tensing up, her eyes flashing dangerously. “What?”

“She’s not going to tell anyone”, Clarke shook her hand dismissively.

“You cannot know that”.

Clarke let the pencil drop, her eyes looking up at Lexa and seeing the Commander’s gaze looking right back at her. Clarke felt her own back straighten up, the flame of the nearest candle hissed dangerously as it snapped up in sparks and smoke.

Her voice was hard. “Raven is not a problem”.

Lexa’s chin rose up. “We cannot risk any cracks on the alliance. Not this close to war. Too many people know, Clarke. She is a threat”.

Clarke’s own eyes flashed. “So what?” she growled. “You want to kill her now?”

She didn’t believe that she’d see the Commander appearing in Lexa’s eyes again, the gentle person the woman had showed the last couple of days around Clarke had her believing they had both made steps forwards. This was the woman that was ready to run in the forest and leave a whole village to be bombed and Clarke didn’t like it.

“Raven is smart”, Clarke pressed, her anger sparkling up when Lexa’s eyes rolled a bit too uninterested. “I know her. She understood the decision and won’t say anything”.

“Are you willing to risk everything on that? On your feelings?”

Clarke growled, “Yes, I am. I might be a hypocrite but you’re a liar, Lexa. What the hell is wrong with you?” Surprise appeared in the green eyes.

“You say having feelings makes me weak but you are weak from hiding from them. You care about Anya more than you’ll ever admit. You care about Gustus even if you do not show it. I know you care about the kid and I know that you are still hunted by Costia. One hundred and eight people died in that village, I know you felt for them. But you were ready to leave and let them burn”.

A soft thub echoed in the tent, making Clarke realize that she had backed Lexa up on a table without knowing. The woman looked shaky, her eyes burning with shock and grief and pain, her breathing heavy.

Lexa’s voice was a whisper. “Not everyone. Not you”.

Clarke blinked, taken off guard, the rage that still boiled in her gut quietening down to a soft confusion. Lexa’s eyes softened, turned desperate, sad and unguarded, like a huge weight suddenly crashed on the brunette’s shoulders. Clarke watched Lexa’s face shifting into a calm waiver, an emotional exhaustion.

“Well, if you care about me then… trust me”.

Lexa blinked. “You can’t ask me that, Clarke”.

“Why not?” the blonde pressed closer, her voice softening. “What happened to you? What happened and made you this way? Hey, look at me”, one of her hands shot up and took a very gentle hold of the Avatar’s face.

Lexa’s eyes rolled up, a hard exhale coming out of her nose. The Commander’s mask started to crumble into pieces, started to fall dangerously fast. Lexa gritted her teeth and clenched her jaw to keep the emotions out of her face. And Clarke was there to watch the woman’s inner battle.

“Get out”, Lexa’s voice broke lightly, but didn’t pull away from the touch.

“No”, Clarke shook her head, leaning down to meet the green eyes.

Lexa cleared her throat. “Raven has nothing to fear from me”.

“No, this is not over”. Clarke decided to press a bit more, hoping that Lexa wouldn’t break completely in her hands. “Talk to me”.

“You think… You think our ways are harsh”, Lexa met her soft eyes, calmness battling with something deeper in her gaze. “But it’s how we survive”.

“Maybe life should be about more than just surviving”.

Lexa blinked, a light appearing in the green orbs as the words sunk in slowly. A shock and a revelation at the same time, like a miracle coming to life. Lexa looked at Clarke like she was seeing her for the very first time, her eyes blinking, lips parting slightly.

Clarke smiled softly at the woman. “Don’t we deserve better than that?”

Lexa’s eyes met her own, shifting back and forth quickly, scanning Clarke’s face for a long time. Her voice was breathless and still shocked when she spoke again. “Maybe we do”, she whispered and then Clarke felt a warm hand wrapping around her neck softly, a pair of lips pressed against her own.

Clarke’s eye shut at the sensation, her mind emptying from any thought, her whole body melting against Lexa’s mouth. She felt the brunette’s thumb sliding over her cheek so very softly, Lexa pulling back just slightly, warm air landing on Clarke’s lips. It took a sweet moment before Clarke felt Lexa leaning in again and then Clarke was meeting her halfway, pressing closer, kissing her back.

Lexa’s lips were cool at the touch of her own, Clarke’s head turning to the side and her hand raising up slowly, taking a gentle hold of Lexa’s waist. Wrapping her lips around Lexa’s lower one felt amazing and the blonde couldn’t help but open her mouth slightly, letting her tongue run over it so, so slowly. Lexa huffed quietly.

They pulled back at the same time, Clarke feeling the brunette’s head turning, her nose nudging the blonde’s and then Lexa was leaning in again and Clarke was gladly welcoming the second kiss, her body pushing closer, pressing against the brunette’s front, one of her arms coming up and wrapping firmly around Lexa’s neck, her other hand coming up to tangle up in the woman’s long braids. Clarke smiled against Lexa’s lips, huffing out a breath and feeling her chest tightening with pleasure.

Lexa pulled back, her breathing heavy. “Clarke…”

“Shhh, stop talking”, Clarke leaned down to kiss the brunette again, a kiss that Lexa returned. The Avatar’s hands fell on her waist, her fingers pulling Clarke’s hips firmly against her own, making her gasp. Lexa took the opportunity and very slowly let her tongue push between Clarke’s lips, making the skygirl moan quietly.

Desperate fingers pulled at Lexa’s coat and straps, pushing the heavy furs back, the brunette twisting her arms out of it, letting it fall on the ground with a muffled _thub_. Clarke moaned again at the feeling of the woman’s thin shirt, the hard muscles very smooth even over the fabric, clenching under her hand that travelled down slowly. Lexa huffed a long breath, ripping her lips away from Clarke’s and letting them crawl down the blonde’s neck. Clarke sighed heavily at the sweet sensation.

She let her own jacket drop on the floor, her hands grasping at Lexa’s black shirt and _pulling_ , needing it off. She whined desperately when Lexa took her mouth away from her skin. Muffled words in _Trigedasleng_ came breathlessly from her. She recognized her own name among them but didn’t make any sense of them.

Whatever she was saying, it sounded sexy as hell.

“English”, Clarke moaned. Another word in _Trigedasleng_. “Lexa, baby, English”.

Lexa moaned helplessly, her green eyes closing for a second as she breathed heavily. “ _Klark_ … What are we doing?”

Clarke kissed her again, pulling at the woman’s clothes again, talking between kisses of pure lust and need. “Well, you see. When two people like each other very much…”

A gentle laugh vibrated from Lexa’s chest, making Clarke smile widely. “No, no, I meant…” Green eyes met her own and Clarke paused for a second but still pressed a bit closer, her body flash against Lexa’s. “Are you sure about this?”

Clarke’s eyes softened. Her thumb ran over the woman’s lower lip and felt her chest tightening, her stomach turning blissfully. The relaxation and longing she always felt around Lexa now made perfect sense. “I have never been more sure about anything else in my life. Are you?”

Lexa’s kiss was full of need and affection and lust and wonder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo... thoughts? ;)
> 
> I'm back, people, with this chapter, one of my favourites for obvious reasons. Meet Aden who won't be playing a huge role but well... here he is for one or two more chapters being his cute little self. I still have no idea what exactly to do with Anniel, even though I like her character, shower me with your thoughts and ideas of her playing a bigger role, you KNOW where this story is heading to.
> 
> Now now CLEXA is finally hAPPENING how great, right? Wait for the next chapter for even more clexa greateness and thank Bellamy for doing so long to dissable to acid fog and giving me time to write this stuff ;)
> 
> For one more time excuse any mistakes, English is not my first language. Please, leave a comment to tell me how your day was, how the chapter was, if you have any ideas you want me to add or stuff to explore a bit more. Until the next one, have an amazing amazing time in this first month of this new year.


	13. Chapter 13

Clarke gasped as two hands grasped the back of her thighs and lifted her up like she weighted nothing, the blonde’s legs wrapping around a strong waist. Clarke laughed as Lexa stared to carry her effortlessly, warm furs and a soft scent circling her as the taller woman let her fall on the bed gently.

“Hold on”, Clarke breathed out, lifting her waist and pulling the cold gun out from its place at the back of her pants. As a reply, Lexa stood up between Clarke’s knees, her own hands wrapping around a blade that was hidden somehow by her own pants. Its sharp edge sparkled softly in the candle light. They both placed their weapons on the bedside table silently, their eyes meeting softly.

Clarke gulped, suddenly realizing what was about to happen, her cheeks heating up a bit at the thought of the Commander underneath her, grasping and moaning. A deep breath crawled out of her chest, her elbows pushing her body lightly up, never taking her eyes away from the green ones that shone under the black war paint.

Lexa seemed to hesitate as well, a feeling that looked a lot like terror enveloping her guarded eyes under the war paint. The brunette bit her lower lip softly.

Seeing the green eyes growing unsure and scared had Clarke pushing into a sitting position, her hands raising and being placed on Lexa’s waist very gently, their eyes never breaking the intense contact. She wanted this; there was a need inside her to feel the woman’s lips on her own, Lexa’s body pressed close, seeing pleasure spilling from the beautiful green orbs.

Her voice was a whisper, “Kiss me”.

Lexa slowly did as told, her back bending, a warm hand cupping Clarke’s cheek, her lips hesitant but at the same time sure, the air around them sped up slightly and the blonde smiled, feeling the flames of the candles growing stronger. Clarke pulled softly at the Avatar’s waist, feeling Lexa shifting and slowly stabling her thighs.

“Can I?” Clarke mumbled, pulling at the black shirt, feeling Lexa nodding against her.

Lexa helped her take the offending cloth off. Clarke had to close her eyes, not able to keep quiet the moan of want, a shudder passing down Lexa’s body, a smug smirk on her mouth at the blonde’s reaction. Clarke looked down at the Avatar’s abs, her rebellious fingers sliding over the sun kissed skin, her blue eyes darkening with need. And she hadn’t even seen the woman topless yet.

Clarke’s own lips pulled back in a smirk at the similar expression that covered Lexa’s face when she took in her own bare skin, the bra that held her breasts securely. The Commander’s lips crashed against her own with lust pouring off her, her long fingers taking hold of the black underwear, trying to figure out how to unstrap it loose. A low frustrated growl came from Lexa, making Clarke helplessly moan against her lips.

“Take it off”, she said dangerously.  Clarke never thought she would be more turned on by someone that couldn’t take off her bra with a twist of their fingers. She rushed to do as told, feeling relief as the press was lifted off, sure that these fingers could do other things perfectly.

She moaned at the feeling of the brunette’s tongue circling her stiff nipple, a wave of heat settling between her legs at the sensation. Clarke’s hand tangled up in braids, a desperate want for Lexa’s lips to stay where they were as long as possible overtaking her mind. She whimpered helplessly when the Commander started to grind gently.

She was pushed back against soft pillows, furs tickling her body deliciously. Clarke’s eyes struggled to stay open, the feeling of Lexa’s tongue against her skin, almost too much to handle. She moaned when the button of her pants popped open easily. The older woman knew exactly what she was doing.

Lexa wasn’t rushing, untying the lashes of her boots, gently taking them off. Her thin socks followed them on the floor and then the brunette was softly kissing her ankles, her fingers pulling slightly at the cloth of her pants. Clarke lifted her hips and helped the woman taking them off, needing the woman’s lips right back on her skin. Her leg jolted as Lexa bit her inner thigh carefully.

Clarke took a hold of the woman’s head, meeting the green eyes only to find them completely darkened with lust. She pulled Lexa up easily, the brunette moving like in a dream, following Clarke’s movements slowly. Her lips were sure when they pressed on the blonde’s, her tongue slipping right away in her lover’s mouth.

“Touch me”, Clarke whispered against the moving lips, an arm wrapping around Lexa to pull her even closer to her. The Commander growled uselessly when Clarke took a firm hold of her butt and the blonde softly cried out as the hard fabric of Lexa’s pants dragged against the sensitive skin of her legs, the brunette’s hips pressing down and _moving_. “Oh fuck…” Clarke mumbled, her dark eyes closing shut as pleasure crashed through her whole body.

Suddenly, this perfect pressure stopped and Clarke was opening her eyes, confused by the lack of pleasure. Lexa’s hand was lifted, hovering in the air oddly, her green eyes slightly wide under fading war paint.

“What…”

Lexa’s lips pulled back slowly, a beautiful smile decorating her gorgeous face. “Your fire bending almost burned my tent down. And how would I explain that to Anya?”

Clarke turned her eyes to look at the black spot color the fabric of the tent near the bed, a candle been completely melted on the wooden bedside table. “Sorry. Shit, I’m sorry. Keep going now, please”.

“May I?” Lexa’s fingers trailed over the edge of her underwear, hooking around the cloth lightly. At Clarke’s desperate nod, Lexa shifted up, pulling the underwear lower and lower and lower, leaving gentle kisses on the way down. Clarke heard a muffled short word in _Trigedasleng_ coming from the woman, a soft breath of warm air being blown against the wetness between her legs.

The first feeling of Lexa’s wet tongue against her had colorful dots appearing behind Clarke’s eyes.

The second had her hands grasping desperately at the furs.

She lost count after that but her body started to tremble and clench, helpless cries of pleasure crawling out of her mouth as gasps and moans and whimpers, Lexa’s fingers holding her own, one of her arms pressing her hips on the soft matters, the woman’s tongue pressed against her constantly firmly moving around until Lexa’s jaw hurt and then long fingers took their own part at making the blonde cry out with pleasure and turning Clarke into a mess and then she was coming hard and embarrassingly fast. A feeling of freedom and pleasure and bliss she had never felt before.

It took a few moments for her to recover, Lexa having crawled up and was lying next to her, a relaxed look on her face as she watched the blonde’s breathing slowly turn back to normal. A smile crossed her lips as blue eyes turned to meet her green ones.

A dangerous smirk appeared on the blonde’s mouth. “Your turn, Commander”.

Lexa’s smile widened as Clarke flipped her on her back and stabled her hips.

\-----

The light of the candles that burned in the room bathed it with warmth. The air was light and unmoving, carrying around the sweet scent of burned wax. Clarke sat with her legs crossed among the mess of furs and sheets, her body close to Lexa’s, feeling the brunette’s own soft heat. The woman’s own legs were on either side of Clarke’s hips, one of her hands pressed on her knee, long fingers caressing her skin.

Clarke could die happy in this moment.

There was a wet cloth in her hold, the fabric slowly being dragged over the Avatar’s skin, wiping away the smudged black paint that still remained on Lexa’s cheeks. The girl was sure that there was paint on the pillows as well but she was too content to care about that in the moment, the pleasure still lazily swimming inside her mind. It was probably the most peaceful moment she had felt on her time on the ground.

She frowned all of the sudden. “How old are you?”

Lexa opened her eyes, surprised by the question. “Twenty two”.

Clarke nodded slowly. “My birthday is sometime next month… I think”.

“The third moon of September?” Lexa smiled softly at the slow nod. “Mine passed”.

“When is it?”

“Third moon of July”.

“Of all the things our people could have in common, I would never have thought that month names would be one of them”, Clarke smiled back at the brunette.

Lexa chuckled softly. “It truly is odd”.

Comfortable silence settled between the two of them again, Clarke wiping the black paint off, Lexa content to stay still and relaxed and take in the sensation of the girl’s caress. Her only hint that her face was finally cleaned was the soft pair of lips kissing her own while the wetness of the rug was taken away from her skin. Lexa sighed.

“Would you like to sleep here tonight?” Lexa looked at her with hope and Clarke felt shy all of the sudden under the affection of her gaze.

“If that’s okay”, she answered quietly. “I wouldn’t like Gustus coming in here to find me naked in your bed though. That would be awkward”.

Lexa smiled. “He won’t do that”.

“What’s your history with him? You seem close”, Clarke slowly turned and lowered herself down to the pillow. Lexa followed next to her, popping her head up with one of her hands.

“He was my father’s best friend”, Lexa smiled. “He was always there when I was a kid and he promised he would take care of me for as long as he could. When I started to train with every element, he travelled with me to each of the four Nations. When the Commander before me was assassinated, he took his place as my royal guard. I don’t have a memory without him standing somewhere close”.

Clarke hummed quietly. “What happened to your dad?”

“He died in battle when I was eight, a year before I started my training”.

“And your mother?”

“Died during my birth”.

“I’m sorry”.

Lexa met her eyes. “It is a very common way of death. And I can’t miss someone I never had. So you don’t need to feel sorry”.

“My father was executed”, Clarke whispered, chewing at the inside of her cheek. “There was a flaw to the Ark’s air system that couldn’t be fixed and he found out. They did not want him go public and killed him to keep it a secret”.

Lexa nodded slowly. “And the one hundred they sent here alone? An, how do you say, huh… an experiment?”

“Short of yes”, Clarke sighed. “We had all broken the law and were too young to be executed. So they sent us down to buy some time and find out if it was survivable to follow down here as well”.

“You turned from prisoner to leader?” Lexa looked impressed, making Clarke laugh.

“You make it sound good”.

“It is a big change”, Lexa smiled warmly.

Clarke found herself grinning. “Sure was. Better living conditions”. Lexa chuckled a bit, eyes sparkling. Clarke marveled at the unusual sight of her looking so young and naturally beautiful. “And Anya? Tell me about her”.

Lexa rolled her eyes affectionately. “Same with her. Every single step of my way, she was there. She was just finished her training as Indra’s second when I arrived to Ton DC to practice my earth bending and she took the role of my mentor”.

“Is that where you got your training method?” Clarke said sarcastically. “Did she too throw rocks at you with every chance she got?”

Lexa smirked. “Of course she did”.

“I couldn’t move for three days after the first training”, Clarke raised an eyebrow. “I had bruises fucking everywhere, Lexa”.

“You learned to duck away from attacks though”, Lexa’s smirk widened. “And you built up some good muscles on your legs. Zack is finally very pleased”.

“No way”, Clarke scoffed. “He wants to burn me into ashes”.

“He doesn’t show his thoughts very well that is true. But he is a good warrior and a smart ambassador. Diplomacy is also a good quality of his”.

Clarke hummed. She opened her hand, a small ball of flames appearing an inch over her skin, warming them gently. “He could be friendlier to his own student”.

Its light mirrored in the deep green eyes. “You are lucky Anya is an Earthbender and can’t train you. Then you’d see that Zack is actually gentle with you”.

Clarke scoffed, closing her fist around the fames. “Sure he is”.

Lexa moved closer, wrapping an arm around Clarke’s bare stomach, her head falling on the blonde’s shoulder. “Anya can train you with a sword”.

“About that”, Clarke looked up at the tent’s ceiling. She ran a hand down Lexa’s soft hair, her fingers tangled up in the locks. “Why swords? Isn’t bending enough?”

“We do not know the conditions inside the Mountain. The fact that the people that were taken never came out… that was concerning knowing that our enemy does not have bending abilities. Anya talked of a red liquid that they used on the prisoners to take away their bending. We needed to be prepared for anything and for years, our warriors were taught to use weapons. And there are warriors in our armies that are non-benders. Sword fighting came from them first and truth is, they are a lot better at handling the blades than benders that unfortunately rely on their abilities more”.

“Can I learn? I mean, will Anya really teach me?”

Lexa took in a deep breath. “Training someone who does not know much is a tough thing for her. She will be unpleased and pouting for a while but will grow used to it”.

Clarke raised an eyebrow. “Anya can _pout_?”

“She’s very good at it”, Lexa smiled sleepily.

Clarke laughed, shifting an inch closer to Lexa’s body and heat. She yawned, feeling her eyes burning slightly with sleep. “ _Good night, Commander_ ”, Clarke said in messy _Trigedasleng_ , the words coming out clipped and feeling unfamiliar.

Lexa turned to look up at the blonde girl, her deep eyes filled with a pleased surprise. “ _Have a good night as well, Clarke_ ”.

She smiled despite not understanding the whole phrase. Still, the affection that Lexa had in her voice was enough to warm her chest pleasantly.

\-----

Clarke mumbled out a few muffled words, the bothering movement dragging her so very painfully away from her peaceful sleep. Her eyebrows pulled together as a soft nudge landed on her belly, pulling a quiet dazed sound from her. Her hold tightened and tried to keep Lexa from moving even more in her own sleep.

Still, even in her sleep, Lexa was stronger and managed to turn in the blonde’s arms and shake the whole bed, her face pressing against Clarke’s chest, her breath coming as a heavy sigh. She stilled for a few moments, enough for Clarke’s mind to return in the dream world once again and then an elbow was landing in the blonde’s ribcage, waking up the girl completely.

Clarke blinked as she looked around, her eyes landing on the long candle that burned softly on the bedside table, its light reflecting on the blade and the gun’s metal. Lexa was now lying on her side, half pressed against Clarke and half melted on the furs, an almost too good looking leg appearing from under the blanket, shifting lightly. Clarke slowly ran a very gentle hand up and down the Commander’s bare back, her fingers trailing over the woman’s skin, over the tattoo she had spent so much time looking at just a few hours before.

“Lexa…” the blonde mumbled as the woman shifted again in her arms, pressing even closer to her. A wave of shudders kept passing down her body, making Clarke pull up just a bit, worried slightly for the brunette. “Lexa, wake up”.

Green eyes blinked open, confused and sleepy. Clarke watched as she frowned, like she sensed something being off, like something didn’t really fall into place. A second later, Lexa was slowly raising her gaze up, meeting the blue eyes that looked worried and questionable. The brunette’s breath was caught in her throat.

“Hey, are you okay?” Clarke whispered. “You seemed like you had a nightmare”.

Lexa breathed out, her unfocused eyes closing and her head falling back on Clarke’s chest, an arm tightening around the blonde. Clarke shifted, pulling her even closer, a warm wave of air passing over her exposed skin, the soft flames in the candles lazily flickering.

“The past Commanders believe I made a mistake being with you”, Lexa said quietly.

Eyebrows shot up. “The past Commanders saw us having sex?!”

Lexa chuckled against her, shaking her head. “They didn’t _saw_ us, but they know”.

Clarke bit back her smile at seeing the usually dull eyes sparkling up. “Are you going to let some dead people tell you what to do?”

The brunette sighed. “They are not dead, Clarke. They are real and… they have never been wrong about something before”.

Clarke was truly considering that Lexa really had voices in her head. “Right”.

“Going to war with the Mountain with a potential enemy interests them”, Lexa said. “Many of them tried to take the Mountain Men down and failed and this is the first time we’ve been so close to winning. We talk a lot the last couple of weeks and, well, they don’t approve any… distractions”.

“I see”, Clarke tried to keep her voice even. “What do you think?”

Lexa slowly looked up in deep blue eyes, seeing the glimmer of the flames reflecting in them. “This doesn’t feel wrong. A distraction possibly but it is the most right thing I have felt in many years. Still, it makes me want to win this war as fast as possible”.

Clarke’s smile lightened up the whole room, her head leaning down to kiss Lexa’s lips firmly, pouring the happiness she felt in this moment in the press of her mouth. Lexa smiled against her, an arm pulling the blonde farther down on the bed so the woman could lean completely over her.

A thought passed over Clarke’s mind and she broke the kiss slowly. She frowned up at Lexa. “A potential enemy you said?”

The sleepy light in the woman’s eyes burned out into an exhausted emptiness. “Yes. I cannot know what will happen between our people when we win this war. I’m sure a truce can be established but I do not know what will happen for sure. We are indeed a lot different and your use of guns worries many of my generals”.

Clarke gulped, her mind speeding up with the new danger. “What do you think?”

“Misunderstandings between our people will happen. In case of a battle, I will have to protect my own”, Lexa said with a sigh. “The coalition will sent its army and a war will also happen. Considering that winter is approaching, you will have a weakness”.

Clarke’s chuckle lacked humor, tension filling her body. “At least you are honest”.

Lexa frowned, her finger tracing mindless shapes on Clarke’s warm skin. “You can… You can join the coalition as the thirteen clan”. She gulped. “The Commander would have to protect you against any move of war. You will be one of my people”.

Clarke nodded slowly. “That sounds good. Better than a war at least. Coalition is like a truce of the clans, right? Anya had mentioned something before”.

“It is exactly that”, Lexa said. “I formed it because of the Mountain and the threat it kept on being for all of us. The clans worked better once they were joined together, the rate of wars and battles lessened even if _Azgeda_ still promises threats. Once the Mountain falls… I need to ensure that the coalition will hold tight. Your people as an enemy can hold the clans together but I have to find another reason for our people to join and save them from a fatal war”.

“What can we do?” Clarke whispered. “None of us wants a war”.

Lexa gulped, suddenly nervous. “You should come with me to the capital. Being the leader of your people… the ambassadors should hear you out”.

Clarke sighed, closing her tired eyes. She hid her nose in the dark brown locks of hair, breathing in the sweet scent of earth and smoke. “I would really like that”.

Lexa pressed against her with a deep exhale, arms wrapping protectively around her. “Winning this war needs to be our priority. Don’t fill your mind with other concerns”.

The blonde laughed quietly. “You say that as if it is easy, Commander”.

Lexa’s hard kiss was a surprise. The green eyes sparkled with something deep and so sad and exhausted, affection and need overwhelming the blonde. Clarke reached up to slowly cup Lexa’s cheek in a gentle hold, looking into the deep color. The woman’s voice was a quiet whisper. “When I’m with you, call me Lexa. Just that, please”.

Clarke blinked, nodding so very slowly, reaching up to softly press her lips against the brunette’s forehead. Lexa exhaled quietly, lowering her relaxed body close to Clarke. The sleep that took over her mind was the sweetest sensation in the universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo the smut happened
> 
> Im not so sure about the last part, people, tell me what you thought. it felt a bit awkward to write but well.. i kept it in obviously ;)
> 
> Until the next one, have a great time, you amazing human beings! Thank you so much for reading


	14. Chapter 14

“Here”.

Clarke blinked as she looked away from the _Azgeda_ warriors that trained a few feet away to see a wooden steaming cup been held her way. Following the long fingers, her body relaxed at the sight of Anya’s familiar face. The woman looked like she hadn’t woken up just yet, dazed brown eyes looking down at her, lines of sleep still lingering on her slightly aging face.

“Thanks”, Clarke gently took the warm cup, the scent of earth filling her mind. The _Azgeda_ warrior grunted a few steps away as his partner managed to land a hit with a ball of sharp ice. Clarke made a face at the uneven cut that blossomed on his upper arm and let blood slide out.

Anya slowly lowed on the ground next to her, readjusting a dark green coat over her shoulders. Clarke was blown away every time she took a small glimpse of the simple daily routine of the grounders. The familiar movements of people yawning or waking up or eating made them look so much softer and realer than the usual hard façade of a warrior’s rough life. The blonde was still realizing they were simple beings.

Maybe that was because she had been so captured by Lexa last night; the way she’d moved and smiled and moaned. Every move natural and alive and pure _human_ that Clarke was left speechless more than once to stare at the usually stoic and robotic Commander trembling under the chill of the night, pressing closer, blinking, laughing and soundly sleeping. Clarke shivered at the reminder of the pleasure and relaxation passing over Lexa’s face during their time together.

An elbow digging in her ribcage had her rudely coming back to the training grounds. Anya’s eyes were looking more awake and were narrowed as she looked at Clarke. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing”.

“You are blushing”.

“Shut up, Anya”.

A flash passed behind the general’s gaze. “You did it”.

Clarke felt her own eyes widening. “Did what?”

“You had sex with her”, Anya smirked wickedly.

Terror passed down her soul. “With who?”

“Oh dear Spirits”, Anya laughed. “I wished I was a dead Avatar to see that”.

The blonde’s jaw fell. “You… Did you just… Nobody _saw_ us!”

The wave of laugher that spilled from Anya’s mouth was like nothing Clarke had ever heard before in her life. The Earthbender had to put her cup on the ground and wrap her own arms around her belly as her whole body shook violently. Clarke cursed and buried her face in her hands, feeling eyes turning to look at them. She punched Anya on the shoulder, trying to calm her down a bit and failing miserably.

The woman leaned back, breathing heavily as chuckles kept escaping from her lips. It was going to be a big fat disaster, Clarke knew as soon as Anya turned to look at her with a dangerous looking glint in her eyes that she was in for a ride.

“How was it?”

Clarke shook her head, feeling heat spreading through her body. “I’m not telling you anything”, she mumbled, hiding her face behind the cup of burning tea.

“Oh, come on, Clarke”, Anya laughed. “Did you like it? She was good, right?”

“Stop”.

“Did you sleep over afterwards?”

“Stop it”.

“How many time did she make you–“

“Oh my God! Shut up!” Clarke pulled away from the general, ready to leave but Anya was faster, grabbing her wrist to keep her still, soft laugher still coming out of her.

“Okay, _Skaigada_ , I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Sit back down”.

Clarke did as told, seriously thinking to burn the other woman alive but the warriors a few feet away were throwing curious gazes at them and she just couldn’t have any witnesses to the murder. Her thoughts were cut off by something softening in the older blonde’s face, muscles relaxing lightly. Their eyes met. “It was serious for you, right?” Anya said quietly, suddenly looking open and unguarded.

The young Firebender frowned, shifting on her seat. “Yes. Why?”

“She’s been through a lot”, Anya sighed. “And she would never let someone so close to her without caring for them. So I know she was serious about you. I don’t know if you were serious about her, Clarke. And if it was just a night for you… Tell me”.

Clarke shook her head, feeling a weight settling on her shoulders. “It was serious”.

Anya nodded slowly, turning to look at the warriors that had turned back to their training, the sight of speeding freezing water making an invisible flinch flash by her serious expression. The Earthbender warrior gulped and nodded again. “Good”.

They sat in a heavy but not totally uncomfortable silence, looking at the pair. Clarke marveled in the way ice flew through the air with force that could surely kill, only to fall into an empty space as the man with the soft blue robes jumped back with very impressive speed to avoid the attack. He didn’t waste time as he span on the ball of his foot and with a wide circled move of his arms had a huge amount of water flying across the space between them. It collided harshly with the younger man in the blue armor, making him land on his ass on the wet muddy ground. Fat drops of water slid down his scarred face that shifted with anger.

“She seemed at ease”, Clarke heard her voice saying. “More than any other time I’ve seen her. That meant something, right?”

Anya chuckled. “I just told you that she let you close when she would not do that to anyone else and you’re still trying to understand if she was sure? You are as hopeless as she is, _Skaigada_ ”.

Clarke smiled sadly. “We are going to war. What if…” she couldn’t finish.

Anya took a slow sip from her cup, watching the Waterbender sent a sharp piece of ice towards the older man’s bold head. “She is the Commander and she is skilled. It’s unlikely she will lose her life in this battle”. He stopped the attack with a block of ice that made both pieces breaking and falling in front of his feet.

“And if I…”

“You better not”, Anya chuckled. “Or I swear to the Flame, I will come to find you in the Spirit World to kill you again, skygirl. Lexa deserves long years of perfect sex with a beautiful blonde Firebender more than anyone”.

Clarke laughed, biting her lip to contain her own growing smile as she turned to look at Anya’s teasing smirk. She quickly snapped her fingers in front of the woman’s face, laughing as the Earthbender jolted back at the sudden flame that sparked up between her fingertips.

\-----

“Clarke of the Sky People”.

The blonde looked away from the fire that burned in front of her and her sketch of Mount Weather, her fingers tightening securely around her pencil. Her eyes slightly widened at the sight of Aden, the young Avatar Lexa had brought in the warzone. It was an odd feeling looking at him; a boy so young but filled with a knowledge so old that was mirrored in his deep eyes, his fragile body standing proud, tall and looking unbreakable. This boy was so similar to the green eyed woman.

“Is this seat taken?”

Clarke blinked and smiled, scouting lightly to the side. “No, no, you can sit”.

He moved stiffly but at the same time fluently, his small body relaxed and his eyes a bit unfocused. There was something relaxed and confident in the way he lowered his body onto the log, an aura of power and metal strength. Clarke admired him without even knowing the kid, his gaze quick and deep with intelligence.

“Is it safe for you to walk around alone?” Clarke asked as she reached to the bowl of dry meat by her feet. She took a bite and nudged the food towards him. He shook his head and politely raised a hand to refuse.

 “My guard is always close”. Clarke looked back to dark shadow the tall warrior stood under, many feet away from them, staring at them. “Avatar Lexa speaks very highly of you, Clarke of the Sky People”.

That got her off guard, her eyes blinking as she looked down at the young boy, his blue eyes quick to snap to hers. “She does?”

The boy smiled, his youthful face mapping up with tired lines. “What do you think? _Heda_ and I are connected in a spiritual level, Clarke. You don’t have to lie to me”, a soft and happy grin grew on his face. “I am happy for you two”.

Clarke shook her head with a huff of laughter, her face heating up despite his polite and approving gaze. “Why are you here anyway?”

“Bringing me here is a good way of teaching”, Aden shrugged. “ _Heda_ Lexa knows it”.

“This is war”.

He rolled his eyes, an energy of youth slipping in his stoic expression. “It is a mess of long meetings with leaders and generals that bicker about their clans and Nations as we are waiting for a signal that may never come”.

A jolt passed down Clarke’s whole spine at the harsh words. “Bellamy will make it”.

Aden nodded. “Your faith and loyalty to your people is remarkable. It gives you the strength you need to get through tough situations”.

Clarke gulped and shifted slightly. “Do all Avatars talk like they are giving a lecture?”

“A lecture?” Aden frowned, the word rolling uncomfortably off his mouth.

“Never mind, kiddo”.

He chuckled at the nickname, a pleased surprise appearing in his eyes.

The silence that settled between them was stiff but carried an understanding. They watched the generals walk under the lowering sun, the shadows long and trembling at the orange light of the fires that burned around as the darkness of the night had started to fill the sky and the forest. Clarke closed her tired eyes and after a very long time of not been relaxed, let the sounds and scents take a gentle hold of her mind.

This side of the camp thrived with a more collected life. The leaders, chiefs and the generals, who had set up their tents here, were older and weighted down by their responsibilities to their people. They trained and loudly laughed, haunted and took long walks in pairs or in groups but it was more resentful, had a precaution and a calculating seriousness that had Clarke straightening her back. They just lacked the simple energy and daily unbothered freedom of the other warriors that had settled below the small hill.

The Earthbenders that talked with loud voices and so often with grunts and leaned on trees or sat on the hard ground in big groups, that were always covered with mud and dirt and laughed all too loudly and got into arguments all too often when their pride or one of their own needed to be fought for.

The Firebenders that walked all too fast and almost bounced with energy and talked quickly as they stood around more often than sitting, who laughed like kids but could sober up in a second with seriousness and get into heated disagreement, who were the first in line for dinner and who trained far more often than others.

The Airbenders that moved like they were floating with wide steps and talking with hand gestures and at times hopping on the same spot slowly as they laughed, who usually took long walks in pairs or alone and listened to stories and knew tales, that smiled and often slept more than the others and would be found in random spots in the forest, meditating or just enjoying the deep forest.

The Waterbenders with their easy smiles and light nature and cocky attitudes, the confidence that could have you listening to them with awe, the exciting stories of their cold lands, their survival instincts and need to be in total control of their new surroundings making them often space out as they took in the scents and sounds and got distracted by the beauty of this warmer weather and the full colors, so very different from the flat white of the snow and frozen lakes.

There was the scent of cooked meat hovering in the air here, covering the smell of dirt and dust and sweat. The forest was alive as the animals of the night were waking up, the last couple of woken birds singing softly among the bugs. A light chilling wind was blowing by softly, making the people tag their clothes tightly against themselves and curl just a bit closer to the warm flames.

Clarke hadn’t been able to sit back and enjoy the Ground since she’d first landed, with a hundred other teenagers that were too excited and too oblivious. She looked down at her hand as she pushed her palm up and a small ball of flames was lightened up, a few inches above her skin, its heat warming her up the skin of her face and for a moment she thought how the hell she had managed to live seventeen years without knowing of her fire bending.

Now, she remembered the fires exploding up in uneven weak long flames that spat out black thick smoke, their water that froze up during the night and none of them could understand how it could have happened. She remembered feeling the ground shaking underneath her feet when Octavia and Bellamy shouted and fought and she could only blame it on her own frustration that had her shaking with rage. She could recall Murphy’s palms sweating all too often and all too much to the point of leaving wet hand marks on anything they touched. She remembered Finn now and how the air around them would speed up often enough to distract her from his kind eyes.

Clarke couldn’t imagine it changing.

She couldn’t imagine a life here without the fear of death or battle.

“Aden, Clarke”, a gentle voice called out, rudely making Clarke focus on the reality of the war camp, the calmness of her thoughts slipping away in a few moments.

Warm heat sparkled up inside her body as her eyes met Lexa’s. The Commander was tired but she stilled managed to offer a shy smile at the blonde girl, slowly lowering her eased body on the log next to Clarke. The Firebender let her hand touch Lexa’s a bit too fast, a bit too comfortable. With a glance around, she made sure no one saw.

Just like every other time, the Commander looked calm and in control of everything that was happening around her. The generals and warriors offered gentle greetings with a simple movement of their head, the air blew warmer as it changed its natural course to pass through the strong flames, the long shadow of the tree they were sat under moved over them as its branches leaned closer to them. Clarke smiled as she watched the water in the kettle over the fire boiling faster.

Lexa smiled at her, seemingly unaware of the elements dancing around them and maybe this was it, this was what peace felt like.

“ _Heda_ ”, Aden greeted his teacher with a soft tone. “How did the meeting conclude?”

The Avatar leaned back slightly, letting the coat fall open just slightly, the very simple image of the tight dark brown shirt capturing Clarke’s mind. Her fingers twisted a bit at the thought of taking it off. And she was sure _this_ was what heaven looked like.

Lexa’s lips moved as she answered Aden but Clarke didn’t focus on a word, glad to just settle back and watch the way the green eyes softened, the way her corner of her mouth was lifted up in a small half smile, the way her hair twisted in long braids, the way her dark war paint covered the skin of her face. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking of Lexa during the whole boring day. Training with Octavia had been little to no distraction of the reminder of the Commander’s strong body moving so gracefully over her own, quietly watching Anya and Raven bicker over everything and anything did nothing to stop the thoughts of wanting to find herself back in that bed, pressed close to the other woman’s side. It was a pure miracle finally seeing Lexa out of that endless meeting.

“… Clarke!”

Something hard collided with the side of her head and she was jolting back, her eyes turning to see an irritated Octavia standing two feet away from her, a laughing Anya taking a seat next to an amused Gustus and a very confused Raven, all of them just looking at Clarke like she had grown a second head. Lexa was hiding her own smile behind a steaming bowl of soup.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, dude?” Octavia growled out as she harshly passed her a wooden bowl, the heat burning her fingertips slightly, the liquid food jolting in the deep cup dangerously.

“Sorry”, Clarke shook her head, turning to shoot a glare at a still loudly laughing Anya that bit her lip but didn’t seem ready to stop giggling her guts out. “How was parole? Anything weird?”

Seemed like the perfect question to ask because Octavia’s drown eyes lightened up and she just forgot Clarke was too busy staring at the woman next to her to pay any attention to their friends approaching. Octavia quickly took a seat close to them and started to talk on and on about a huge wolf they had stumbled across the way. It was like seeing the young girl that chased butterflies and had no idea what a sword even looked like all over again and Clarke felt a very smile pick at her lips as excitement and innocence spilled from Octavia’s eyes and mouth. Raven met Clarke’s blue eyes and returned the gentle smile, placing a soft hand on their friend’s bouncing knee.

Warmth filled Clarke’s body as Lexa leaned an inch closer to her, their eyes meeting under the cover of Octavia’s loud voice that had everyone’s attention. Clarke sighed as the brunette’s thigh brushed up against her own, her teeth sinking onto her lower lip to stop the smile from spreading on her face. The blonde Firebender had to look away from the pair of beautiful green eyes to stop herself from leaning in and taking that full bottom lip between her own, the heel of her boot knocking gently against Lexa’s ankle and making the corner of the Avatar’s lips pull up.

“There is no way it had three colors on its fur”, Anya was saying dismissively.

“Yes, well, he _did_ ”, Octavia rolled her eyes. “He had a bit of brown on his chest”.

Anya shook her head. “Three colored wolves are only found up north”.

Raven tilted her head to the side in thought. “Well, we are close to winter so there is a possibility of them travelling a bit down west”.

Anya was shaking her head stubbornly. “There is no way”.

“I’m not fucking blind”, Octavia glared at Anya.

Anya smirked. “Maybe you should check it a bit more, _Skaigada_ ”.

Raven spread her leg, rubbing on her thigh. “You did have some trouble making out how many guards were along the walls a few night ago. Looking into it is not a bad thing, O”.

“If she’s half blind, how’s she going to look into it?” Gustus asked, making both Anya and Raven melt into loud cries of laughter. Octavia rolled her eyes as she stood and walked away, mumbling out curses.

Clarke grinned at the two women with a shake of her head, turning to find Lexa with a soft smile on her face as well. Sitting here near the fire with their family and friends felt good, felt perfect and precious and yes, she could now see it. She could see them building a full and rich and _good_ life here on the ground.

The feeling of course was too good to last.

A war cry came from the warriors’ camp, followed by Lexa’s title shouted loudly from the grounders’ mouths, heads turning to look up in the sky and fingers pointing. Lexa was on her feet in seconds, her face hard and her eyes flashing as they followed the red flare that proudly crawled up the darkening sky and after four long days of worry and silence, the Arkers had finally received the okay from Bellamy.

The reality of war fell on Clarke’s shoulders like a sack of stones.

Lexa was away from her the next moment, sharp words falling from her tongue as she stood to the edge of the cliff that looked down at their army, the warriors on their feet and looking up at her like she was their God. The Commander slowly closed her dark green eyes and took in a deep breath as battle horns sounded and covered her warriors’ calls. The ground started to shake underneath Clarke’s feet and the cold air picked up in speed, making a big number of people reach out to steady themselves on tables, on trees, on others.

Clarke felt her lips parting as the flames jolted and flew up in the air in long lines of heat and smoke, speeding up to Lexa and circling her body, water bursting out of bottles and cups and bowls, mixing with dirt and leaves and small branches, taking their own place of curling the Avatar, the wind hissing dangerously.

Lexa’s eyes were blinding white when they opened. The wide smile the crossed her face looked horrifying and wonderful, lines of white light spilling from her lips. Her feet lifted off the ground, air gathering under them, the four elements circling and circling and circling the Avatar until the only sound that was echoing was the wind.

The voice that came from Lexa was not hers. It was loud and powerful and sounded like an animal’s growl and an angel’s song. It sounded like a man was painfully dying and like a baby was gloriously born. There was nothing mortal to this sound, nothing from this world.

_The Avatars are with us in this war!_

_And it will be victorious for us!_

_Our dead will be finally rested!_

_And this enemy will never raise up again!_

Clarke took a step back and Anya’s fingers wrapped around her arm, her brown eyes filled with awe rather than fear, filled with confidence and determination. The older blonde widely smiled as she stared at the Avatar letting out a war roar that had the warriors below her answering with their own excited shouts.

“She _did_ say the dead wanted to be avenged”.


End file.
